Sand Castles
by banshee-hime
Summary: Gaara is appointed the Kazekage and starts dealing with everything that comes with the job. He tries to peacefully co-exist with the outlaw tribes that inhabit the desert. He gets a new ambassador from the strange desert dwellers. He discovers more about both their culture and himself. GaaraxOC Updated weekly, still in experimental stages, all input appreciated TEMP HIATUS (EXAMS)
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! I hope at least some of you guys still read these, but I'm going to try and be as quick as possible here. **

**Disclaimer: I do not in fact own Naruto, I do own the plot, and all the OCs you will stumble upon while reading this (I am not going to repeat this, since I think once is quite enough)**

**I haven't written in a while, and I am a bit nervous about writing again, but I've been itching to post something new, and my ideas are overflowing. This story, yes it is going to be a story, is going to be a pretty slow build, and the rating will probably go up. **

**So, about the story. It's a GaaraxOC, a bit AUish I suppose, I will try and follow the manga and anime as much as possible. The timeline starts shortly after Gaara is appointed as Kazekage, considering that we have a bit of a blank in there, I took advantage, hehehe~**

**I will try and put my thoughts as much as possible into the story, but If you see something that makes you WTF and you think is illogical, please point it out, and I will try to fix it or explain it. **

**As you all know, every writer on fanfiction loves reviews, so I would love to get some input, critics etc, it makes me update faster, and if you stick to this story, you will see that I update very, very, veeeery slowly. Also, this story is a bit of a slow build, and the romance isn't going to be there for a while. I just don't see Gaara as a person who falls for others too easily, I consider him to be a pretty inexperienced, awkward, post-assassin-mode teenager..**

**So without further ado I present to you:**

The prologue

_One of the first memories I have is of a shinobi. Interesting, isn't it? I live in a world where my people do not appreciate the person who saved me. In the end I don't really know. Are shinobi bad like we believe them to be? Are they emotionless killers? Or are they saviors? Those who fight for the weak. I don't really know. I prefer to experience first, and then decide. So back to that first memory of mine, it goes way back. I remember the warmth of the dry wind on my skin and the sand crunching between my teeth as the woman carrying me flew across the desert. She ran as fast as she could I suppose, to me back then, it was like a ride on a magic carpet. I remember her smile. That beautiful reassuring smile and the words she kept repeating. _

"_You're okay."_

"_You're going to be fine."_

"_You're okay."_

"They are impossible to control."

"Kazekage-sama, please understand, this isn't a one-time thing, we have had problems with them in the past."

"Those thieves should be dealt with. They are nothing but refugees and beggars."

Gaara stared around the room in silence. The council wasn't too happy about the recent events. He had never known that they had that much of a problem with the nomads. He had always thought of them as people who simply don't fit in and roam. He had never thought they were thieves and murderers. He was misinformed.

"We need to make a move, Kazekage-sama."

"There have been too many requests and complaints to ignore!"

"Very well", Gaara finally spoke silencing the room," We will send a team. We can't have a war with our own people."

"Kazekage-sama, we do not have the authority. They aren't shinobi. The Wind Daimyou has jurisdiction there." The old man to Gaara's left spoke.

The Kazekage regarded the council members in silence. "I have left the matter alone for quite a while. As we are one of the damaged cities, we are enabled to take necessary measures to protect ourselves. I will select a team by tonight." Gaara's monotone signaled the end of the discussion. He stood up gracefully, locking eyes with his brother across the room.

"This meeting is dismissed." The older brother officially finished and left after the redhead.

"Gaara." Kankuro spoke up after they had walked for a while.

The redhead didn't show any sign of hearing him, just kept walking down the dimly lit corridor. Kankuro sped up and caught up to his younger brother. Their nin-shoes clanked down the corridor clearly. Gaara led them up the stairs and towards his office.

"Oi, Gaara." The puppet master finally got a small nod showing that Gaara was, in fact, listening.

"Who are you sending?" Kankuro asked, closing the door of Gaara's office behind them. The young Kazekage made his way to his desk. He sat behind it and glared half-heartedly at the offending papers on it. Then, his green eyes met his brothers. The intensity of his stare gave Kankuro the shivers. For a moment everything was silent. The sand storm outside raged against the round windows of the Kazekage's office. The angry pounding of sand grains against the glass was the only sound while the brothers locked gazes. Then, Gaara spoke.

"Me."


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello my dear readers, fanfiction writers, guests or just people who randomly stumbled and read this,**

**I would like to ask you guys about your preferred chapter length. This chapter is about 2k words, which is around 5 pages in Word. I was wondering if his was enough, or you liked the chapters a bit longer? Please do tell me your preferences.**

**Now then, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Chapter one:**

**In which Gaara leaves on a mission…**

It was a very early morning. The sun wasn't up yet. Shura walked towards the gates of Suna. She had come back from a mission late last night, and received another one right away. Apparently the Kazekage was adamant about her being on the team. She had turned in her report, taken a quick shower and re-packed. She could still feel her side stinging a bit. The last mission was a pain. One of the bandits got her good with his silly sword. Now she was just going to have to bear with it. She wondered who else was going on the mission. There were no details in the paper she got, just the essential stuff, rank, mission title etc. She wondered who the mission leader was. Oh well, no use wrecking ones brain over it, she was going to find out soon enough.

Shura finally dragged herself to the gates. She greeted the night guard and sat on one of the giant steps. Taking out a sandwich and water, she watched the sun come up slowly. The breeze was nice, not too hot, and the cold of the night was slowly going away. Shura bit into her first meal during the last twelve hours with pleasure. She munched happily, waiting for the rest of the team. The guards on the wall switched, greeting her casually. She smiled and waved at them, not trusting her full of food mouth enough to speak. Slowly the temperature was climbing, but it was still quite nice outside. Shura never was good with heat. How ironic that she was born in the desert.

"Takeuchi-san." A deep baritone sounded from her left. Shura turned, just to see Kan. She waved at him happily, tired eyes opening in excitement. Shura knew Kan quite well. He was her sempai in the academy, but once she became a Chunin they ended up on some missions together and developed a good friendship from here on. Shura found the tall man to be able to accept her not so appropriate jokes with an open mind and she ended up discovering his amazing cooking talent. That man made the best food she had ever tasted. Speaking of food, Shura swallowed the rest of her sandwich and gulped down some water.

"Kan." She greeted back as soon as her mouth was empty. "You're too formal."

The man threw his head back, laughing heartily at her pouting face. He hoisted himself up onto the step that she was sitting on.

"Still as childish as the last time I saw you."

Shura glared at him playfully. She packed the rest of her water into the backpack she had brought with her. She glanced at the dark haired man beside her and noted his clothes and gear. He wore the usual clothes, fit for the harsh desert weather, a couple of weapon pouches and a backpack. She praised herself on the inside for getting ready well without a lot of information.

"Do you have any details about the mission?"

"Not really." Kan combed back his black bangs.

"I got called in, they gave me the papers and the time to meet my team here." The bangs fell down into his face again. He looked a bit annoyed with them.

"Same as me then." Shura sighed. "Though I'm just continuing from my last mission." She laughed humorlessly.

"That's rough." Kan sounded sympathetic. After all, pulling a chain of missions wasn't an unusual occurrence. Suna was in grave need of more skilled shinobi. Especially Chunin and Jonin level. They were also low on medics, but the Kazekage was working on that. Since he was appointed, the Jinchuriki had made use of their relationship with Konoha to the fullest.

"You know what, I heard some rumors that the Kazekage was leaving the village. And the Council isn't very happy about it either." At this Shura perked up. She had never liked those old farts. Most of them needed to try out being a shinobi again and then start deciding what they were going to do with the people they had available.

"I bet he's restless. I know I would be. I mean, imagine just quitting all the missions and just staying up there in your office, all cooped up all day, just doing paperwork and listening to those fossils order you around. I think I'd die. Or kill someone."

"Shhhhh!" Kan shushed her through laughter. "You don't want to get in trouble with the Council, you brat. They have ears everywhere, you know?"

"Pssssh. Watch me! I'm just going to go up there now and give them a piece of my mind about chain missions!"

"I'm afraid the chain mission was my fault." A monotone sounded somewhere from above. "I needed you on this mission, Shura Takeuchi. The Council was against it."

Kan and Shura looked up, just to see the Kazekage himself landing on the step they were sitting on. They both jumped up and gave a small bow, greeting the young man with respect.

"I meant nothing by it, Kazekage-sama. I was merely joking, forgive me." Shura was looking at her feet while speaking to the man. Younger than her or not, she was always intimidated by him. True, she had only heard stories of his murder spree days, but she could feel his aura. The chakra he unconsciously emitted was enough to make her feel slightly dizzy and nauseous. He was the impressive kind of terrifying.

"I see." The redhead finished the discussion. He looked out into the desert, as if searching for something. Shura chanced a glance at him. He wasn't wearing his Kage robes. He was just standing there, staring out into the half way above the horizon sun lazily. Kan shifted beside her. He was easily taller than the Kage, Shura noted. Kan had wider shoulders, too.

"Kazekage-sama?" The shinobi beside her questioned. "If I may be bold, but why are you out here? Is there a problem? Anything we can do to help?"

Kan was getting nervous, Shura noted. He was switching scenarios in his head already. She could tell that much. The Kazekage slowly looked at the shinobi. He stared at the taller man for a bit. Shura thought she had caught a bit of displeasure in his eyes, but she wasn't sure. The Kage was very much expressionless.

"We are waiting for one more member of the squad, Kan Shinya."

This sentence caused Kan to, well, change colors. Shura just felt her jaw drop. The Kazekage was going on a mission… with them?!

"Kazekage-sama, if I may-"

"Later." He cut her words off. She saw him looking somewhere behind her. She turned. A man was coming their way. He was clothed for the desert and had a backpack. Once he got closer, Shura saw his Suna hitai-ate.

"Forgive me for being late, Kazegake-sama." The man greeted. Shura noted his unusually high voice. Kan was sending mental daggers at the man from her side. She could sense it.

"It's fine. I, too, was tardy." The Kazekage answered." We leave now."

He jumped from the step and took off into the desert in a run. Shura and Kan were quick to follow him, matching his pace without any problems. The late shinobi ran a bit faster, until he was the one running the closest to the Kage. Kan sent mental daggers at his back yet again.

After a bit of running, West, Shura figured, the village vanished from their back view. All around them were just sand dunes and an occasional rock. Shura caught sight of a couple of lizards coming out to get some sun. She smiled while running. The air was getting hotter by the minute. Even though Shura wasn't fond of the heat, she had to admit that she loved this desert. It was her home.

Kan kept glaring at the shinobi in front of him. He had seen Shura's slight surprise when she had noticed the man's hitai-ate. She didn't know him either. That only left two options. He was appointed by the Kazekage, personally, or he was appointed by the Council. Whichever it turned out to be, Kan didn't like him. The shinobi walked and talked properly, he carried himself with pride. Kan had noticed the way the man didn't speak to him and Shura at all, just to the Kage, as if they were below him. He also saw the fitting of the man's clothing. It was a perfect fit. The shinobi wasn't of low birth. There also wasn't even one rip or stain on him. Even the Kage's cloak had some rips on the edge. You wouldn't see them with an untrained eye, but Kan was a shinobi, he was used to noticing the smallest of details. Kan's mind spun in circles around corruption and conspiracy theories.

In a few hours the Kazekage stopped out of the blue. They were still in the middle of nowhere. No oases, nothing, just desert. Sand was everywhere.

"Five minutes break." The redhead told his companions, walking towards one of the rare rocks in sight. Shura walked past him and plopped ungracefully onto one of the hot stones. Kan followed them slowly. The still unnamed shinobi was close behind, walking up to the Kazekage.

"My name's Shura Takeuchi, this is Kan Shinya. Please take care of us." Shura addressed the shinobi next to the Kage, extending her hand. The man glanced at her calmly, and then looked away. Shura's eyes noticeably widened and she looked quite disappointed. Slowly, her hand went down.

"Gaara." Shura looked up to see the Kazekage casually extending his hand towards her. She smiled at him then, quite bravely, too, and shook his hand.

"I know exactly who you are, Kazekage-sama."

"Just Gaara is fine." He insisted, extending his hand to Kan who accepted it also.

"But, Kazekage-sama-"The shinobi next to him began, but Gaara cut him off.

"I'm glad to have you all on this mission. This is Toru Minami. He is my escort." Shura caught the slight displeasure in the Kage's voice. The escort was obviously not his idea. Kan looked from the Kage to the shinobi. He didn't like this man too much. Toru looked at all of them like they were some kind of bugs that were infesting his vegetable garden. Vegetable gardens were very important in Suna after all. It was a big thing to have one infested. Maybe Toru had an infestation in his? Maybe that's why he was so grumpy? He couldn't get any vegetables before leaving, because of his infestation. And on top of that, he probably had to leave his poor, sick garden to someone else to take care of while he was on a mission. Maybe the Council appointed him _because _of that infestation? Maybe he was aiming to infest other gardens, too. Kan had his theory now; just to prove how exactly this Toru person was trying to infest others with his bugs. He liked his garden the way it was. He could cook properly with all the things he grew in it, after all. He would stop this act of bio-terrorism as swiftly as possible.

"Kaze-, um, Gaara-san, could you tell us more details about the mission?" Shura asked. Gaara nodded. He crouched, laying his palm flat onto the ground. Shura felt his immense chakra again. This man was a beast. He was amazing by himself, she could only imagine what he could do with his Biju. The Kage straightened after a moment.

"I will brief you on the way. They have changed directions."

Shura glanced at Kan, who shrugged in return. She threw a look at Toru, but he was already chasing after the Kazekage. Shura and Kan matched the redhead's pace again as he started the explanation.

"I believe some of you are familiar with the Wanderers?" After receiving only one nod of affirmation the Kage sighed.

"They are the clans that lived under no one's reign in the desert." Shura picked up the explanation. "There are rumors that they have been around since before the Nations were formed. I've heard that they were great warriors, on par with shinobi. These days, they have bowed to the Daimyou to keep their lives, but they still step on the line of law and jump through the holes it allows. A lot of them have turned to thievery since the Daimyou isn't too fond of them and doesn't supply them with any kind of provisions. They live in terrible conditions. I've seen it."

Gaara locked gazes with Shura for a second. "That is why I demanded you for this mission, Takeuchi-san. I have received information that you speak their language and have studied their beliefs."

"Yes, I do. Not very well, but it's understandable." Shura laughed. "Oh, and please do call me Shura, when someone says Takeuchi, I think that they are addressing my brother." The only response she got was a long look that utterly confused her.

"The Wanderers have been acting up. It isn't just a once or twice a year occurrence for them to steal anymore. They have raided many cities, some even cleaned out from certain items, mostly food. Sunagakure was their last reported target. I have received many requests for aid against the Wanderers. That is our mission."

The next few minutes of running were spent in complete silence. Shura was tossing the idea of visiting the Wanderers again. All in all, she was looking forward to being with those people again. They made you feel as if you were dreaming. Their lives were in another world. She chanced a look at the Kage. She had heard about his killing machine days. She had never had the chance to see any of the incidents, as she was mostly away on missions. She wondered about this man's intentions towards the Wanderers. She doubted that he could single handedly wipe them out, but if he released his Biju, it could be possible.

She was afraid for all the wonderful people she had met while living with them. Shura had dedicated her life to being a kunoichi, she was ready to die at any moment. They on the other hand, weren't. She wondered if this man leading their mission was Gaara the Kazekage of Suna who was going to wipe out a threat and a nuisance or Gaara a former assassin, looking to understand and accept a different culture. Gods help her, she couldn't read that man at all.

He didn't seem hostile yet, Shura decided. Maybe that meant that he was going to try and talk it out with them? Or maybe that was just a cover. She didn't know. She decided to trust her instincts. And they told her that no matter how terrifying this man running in front of her was, with his bloody sand on his back and his enormous chakra and the Biju in him, he was trustworthy. Shura gave a small smile. She was willing to put her trust in this young man, and if it came to it, she would try and stop him at the cost of her life.

Kan wasn't too thrilled. Outlaws in everything but name. He would have to be alert. He threw a glance at Shura. She was smiling to herself. Well, if she was this happy about the mission, he would trust her instincts and experience. On all of the missions they were on together up till now, her instincts were correct.

They ran for another few hours. The Kazekage allowed them two more brakes, not stopping for too long. Apparently, he could feel the Wanderers through the desert sand, pinpointing their location. There was one group in front of them. The Kazekage wanted to catch up to them as soon as possible. The shinobi group had kept their pace even when the redhead informed them that the Wanderers had stopped.

The sun was slowly setting when they finally saw a shape on the horizon. The group headed there at a quicker pace. The closer they got the better could Gaara make out the shape in the sand. There were three ship-like structures standing still on top of the sand. The sails were misplaced and intertwined between the wooden vessels, creating a huge tent. As they got closer, the shinobi saw a couple of people walking around, securing the tent, fastening ropes, some carrying cargo from the holds of the ships into the tent. When they caught sight of the shinobi they started yelling something to each other in a strange language. By the time the shinobi entered the shade of the tent and ships, mostly everyone was gone, and only a few men were lingering. Gaara noted the sharp, curved blades they each had on their hips.

The tent opening widened and a tall, muscular man came out. He had two blades, one on each hip, and his black hair was braided elegantly. This man was a warrior without doubt. Shura counted over twenty warrior braids in his hair, each decorated with silver and gold rings. This was either their strongest warrior, the Champion, or their leader. She hoped it was the latter. Warrior leaders weren't too hard to deal with. If their leader was a priestess, that could pose a problem.

The man sized them up with his unusually pale eyes. Then he spoke a long sentence in a deep voice. Gaara looked at Shura. He held back his urge to face palm when he saw her face. She didn't understand a word that man was saying.

**I think I'm going to end I here, with a little bit of humor in the end. **

**Now then, this is a little experiment of mine, I am really just testing the waters with this story. I thought Gaara wouldn't be too bad to write, since I adore him as a character, but I have found him a bit of a challenge. I would appreciate you guys telling me if he gets a bit talkative, or unnaturally emotional. **

**I have just begun with my assault of OCs, so do get ready for more. I will try and keep them as different as possible. I think I might end up drawing some of the main ones, if yes, I will tell you in another AN, so keep an eye out for that. **


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello again, my dear readers! **

**I would like to thank all that read, followed and faved! I was thrilled to see some follows :) Still no reviews though :( **

**Anyways, I shall not give up! Here is another chapter, I hope it gives you a bit more insight into the characters and the story.**

**I would also like to say that this culture that I am describing is completely imaginary, even though I am using various things from reality to make it as real as possible. You may notice different religions and customs mashed into one. It is not my attention to offend, so do keep that in mind while reading.**

**If I may suggest a playlist: **

**Shiva in Exile - ****Kraft und Freude**

**Shiva in Exile – Endure the Heat**

**Solace - Khatar**

**Today I give you Chapter two:**

**In which Gaara gets advice...**

_I stand here, still, at the knot of the worlds. Skies under my feet. Oceans above my head. I am the gate. I am the doorway. I do not flatter before those who wish to pass. I cross the border. Back and forth few are allowed. I shall live both in the world where the survival of the fittest rules and in that in which the hearts of men rule._

_I stand here, still, waiting for someone to relieve me of my duty. I do not regret a day of my watch. The stars shine under my feet. The fish swim in the heavens. I am the way. I am the gate. I am shut. _

_An elegant hand glides over the parchment. Silver and golden designs glister upon the tan skin in the dim light of the candles. Letters spill from a brush, creating more cursive lines. _

_I pass my knowledge of the knot to you. _

For a second everything was still. Then the man in front of them moved. The tall, tan male put one of his hands casually on the hilt of his sword. Gaara stilled. He flared his chakra slowly in warning. Kan reached for a kunai and Toru had his hands in front of him, ready to form signs in a second. Then Shura spoke. The foreign words she said sounded broken and a bit uneven, but realization flashed across the Wanderers face. He answered her with a long string of his own words and stepped forward. Gaara let his sand tickle to the ground. He wouldn't let his team get hurt.

The man was still walking forward. He stopped in front of Shura. The men behind him were laughing silently. Then his own laughter boomed the desert and he clamped a huge hand onto Shura's shoulder. She stood, looking smug, as the man talked and laughed patting and shaking her shoulder occasionally. Gaara stopped his sand, bewildered. In the last ten minutes, he had lost all control of the situation. That is, if he had had any to begin with.

Once the man stopped shaking Shura he draped a hand around her shoulders dragging her towards the huge tent entrance. "Kazekage-sama, we have been invited in. He says he will listen to you after dinner. That is the custom here, so please just go along with it."

The Kage and shinobi followed the now happily chatting warrior and kunoichi into the tent. The guards at the entrance nodded to them as they passed. Entering the tent was like entering a whole different world. Gaara breathed in the air, noticing all the different smells. The air was thick with some kind of sweet smoke, but he could also smell various spices and some kinds of food he had never tried before. He noticed Toru coughing a bit beside him. The escort was still on his guard, unlike Shura, who had walked into the tent with the Wanderer warrior like it was her second home. She was walking in the front, laughing at something the tall man had said.

Gaara then surveyed his surroundings carefully. The inside of the tent didn't just have different air, the inside was like stepping into a colorful painting. The outside was a plain sandy color, but on the other side of the sails there were carpets and wide clothes that had pictures on them pulled up carefully, making the interior a vortex of colors. They weren't unpleasant to the eye, and Gaara decided that he quite liked the tent. Maroon, pale purples, dark blue tones, red, brown and black surrounded him. The ship parts that were on the inside of the tent were transformed into various things, giving room for an improvised kitchen like space, an area for smoking some weird pipes, Gaara determined that the sweet smoke came from them, and others like that.

On the wide expanse between the ships, the desert floor was partially covered in carpets, and parts of the inside were divided into smaller tents with see-through materials. Inside those smaller sections were pillows on the floor, also decorated with impressive designs like the carpets. In the middle of those small circles were low tables where the plates were placed with an impressive amount of food. Gaara caught sight of wine and sake, and some other amber liquid he couldn't identify. He never was one for alcohol after all. That was something Kankuro knew about.

The people were bustling around, not paying much attention to the newcomers. Gaara noted that they were mostly tan, tall and dark haired. Their clothes were also quite different from what Gaara was used to. They wore either sandy colors, or dark red and deep purple tones. He noticed that women wore pants and didn't really behave any different than men. Obviously, they were regarded as equal. He caught sight of some children running around and playing. Most of the men had warrior braids, while the women either had their hair up in high ponytails or braided in one long braid that went down their back. They all had golden and silver jewelry and details on their clothes and hair. He saw a man with a tribal golden tattoo over half of his face. All in all, Gaara decided he liked the look of these people.

The warrior and Shura led them to one of the smaller tents. The tan man gestured for the rest of them to sit, seating himself last. Gaara found himself sinking into the one of the softest pillows he had ever sat on. The scent of the sweet pipes wafted his nose as he settled himself. Toru took the seat to his right in a flash and Kan sank into the pillows to his left. Shura settled herself next to Kan. The Wanderer sat across from Gaara, looking at him with plain curiosity. There was no hostility in the man's posture, and Gaara relaxed on instinct.

"This is Yaiba no Chaizen. He is the current leader of this tribe. They are the current rulers of the Pale Mountain and the Western Starsea." Shura introduced. "I will try to translate to the best of my ability, Kazekage-sama."

She then turned to Chaizen telling him something in the strange language. Gaara caught their names as she gestured to them. The introductions were complete without a lot of complications. This was great. It was going better than he anticipated.

"Ask him if he knows anything about thefts, discreetly." Gaara's monotone voice caught Shura's attention. She nodded and then turned to the Wanderer. He had a small frown on his face as she talked, then it morphed into a wide grin. He laughed and answered her. She laughed with him.

"He says that he doesn't know what you are talking about, and that you should eat something before discussing such matters. He asked a bit about our village, too."

Gaara accessed the man in front of him. Obviously he was a good leader. A great warrior and a clever man. He was telling Gaara to rethink his question while eating, and then ask again. Gaara allowed a small smirk to make its way to his lips, and he nodded to the man across from him. He found that he quite liked the Wanderer.

The pale fabric of their smaller tent moved as a couple of children and women entered, setting different foods on the plates on the small table in the middle of the pillow circle. Two men hauled in a barrel of strong smelling liquid and set it next to Chaizen. The man attached some kind of a contraption to the barrel and poured the amber liquid into five golden goblets. He distributed them among the group and then raised his locking eyes with the Kage.

"Gaara." The man's thick accent was evident in the strangely pronounced name. "Celebrate." He finished and moved his glass to Gaara's. The Kage caught on, clanking their goblets together, as they all chorused the weird toast the Wanderer had set. Chaizen drank, and they all followed. Gaara was suspicious, but he noted that Shura was heartily drinking without any precautions. He took a gulp and the taste exploded on his tongue. The drink wasn't alcoholic, but it might have as well been. The taste that he couldn't quite pinpoint was intoxicating and addictive. He could guess that it had raspberries, some kind of sugar, oranges, strawberries and something refreshing, something he couldn't identify. It was delicious. He found himself downing the whole goblet and then looking at the clear bottom in disappointment. Chaizen's loud laughter rang again, and he took Gaara's glass and refilled it.

"Kazekage-sama, If I may, ease up on the Fruit Water." Shura was suddenly on his right. When did Toru move? He didn't know. He saw the shinobi siting on another pillow, filling his plate with the delicious looking food on the table. How much time had passed? What was this?

Shura settled herself next to him. Kan was no-where to be seen. She filled a plate with different things and handed it to him. The only thing he recognized was a type of lizard. He looked at Shura. She was eating her own food, looking very content. Chaizen was sitting next to Toru, piling up more food onto his plate.

"Shura." She turned to him. "What is going on?" She seemed to understand his question. She lowered her plate and drank a bit from her glass.

"It's nothing to worry about Kazekage-sama. The Fruit Water is a bit strong this season, and the Sweet Grass is probably dulling your senses a bit. You will be used to it in the next hour or so." She reassured him. "Eat something, and leave everything to me. This doesn't affect me."

Gaara nodded to her and tried some of the meat from his plate. It was delicious. There was a woman singing somewhere behind him. When did they start playing the music? He didn't know. This was like an impressive genjutsu, he concluded. His sense of time had completely vanished. He heard drums and a flute. The voice rang out once more and he kept eating his food and drinking the wonderful Fruit Water. He would leave things to Shura for a while.

At some point, Kan sat next to him again, and started drinking and eating again. The salty food was replaced with sweet and Gaara found himself impossibly full. He had no idea that a meal could be like this. He was used to a quick lunch or nothing at all during his long hours in the Kazekage office. Temari sometimes cooked, or Kankuro burned water, but mostly they went to places to eat. Back when his father was alive, they had a cook and a housekeeper, but not even that food came close to this. He had no idea if it was the music, the smells, the cloud like pillows or the laughter and genuine joy around him that made this meal one of the best he had ever had. He could bet that Naruto would've loved this.

Chaizen sat across from him yet again and smiled at him. Gaara gave him a nod. The man drank again from his glass and then started setting up something from a box he had brought with him. It was a tall pipe of sorts, with water in a glass bowl on the bottom and a long tube going around the whole contraption. Gaara found it quite ominous looking. Chaizen set it up, lit it up and then started smoking. He extended the tube to Gaara who looked at it carefully. His sense of time and space was slowly returning. He was getting more cautious.

"It's ceremonial, Kazekage-sama." Shura explained. "The pipe is a symbol of relaxation and peace, smoking it with him means that you come in peace and that you are grateful for his hospitality."

Gaara leaned forward slightly, taking the pipe. He pulled one short breath of the sweet smoke into his lungs, and was surprised that he didn't cough at all. He expected it to be like cigarettes, but it wasn't. Cigarettes were something Kankuro had persuaded him into trying. He had decided that once and never again was good enough for him. But this, this wasn't too bad. He could get used to announcing he was peaceful from time to time.

He exhaled the smoke, passing the pipe back to Chaizen. He however shook his head and gestured to Shura. She took the tube from Gaara and pulled the smoke into her lungs. Gaara noticed how the water on the bottom bubbles as you inhale. She exhaled the smoke in shape of circles, blowing them towards Chaizen. He laughed loudly again, taking the pipe this time. The Wanderer looked at Gaara once more, a serious expression on his face. Then he turned to Shura, telling her something. She nodded.

"He says that he likes you and that he wants to give you a piece of advice. He says that the shinobi haven't been bothering them as much as they used to since you have taken the position of the Kazekage and he wants to show his gratitude by giving you this information." Shura translated.

"Give him my thanks." Gaara replied in his usual emotionless tone. Chaizen perked up at his words, laughing yet again, and then he quickly explained something to Shura. She stopped him a couple of times, asking him to slow down and posing some questions. When they were done she turned to Gaara.

"Chaizen says that you decided to act at a good time. He says that the Grand Priestess, that is their elder, has declared a summit of clans. They are right now travelling towards the meeting point, he says he is willing to take us along. Chaizen is only the head of this clan, and he is willing to answer certain questions, but it would be better for you to go and talk to the Priestess. She is the one who has the authority to pass laws onto all clans, while Chaizen can't command his clan members to honor the rules that he decided upon. If you go directly to the Priestess, you can solve your problem, he says."

Gaara nodded to her. He wasn't too familiar with the structure of the Wanderer people's society. But he figured that there were clans who were led by their heads, but those heads didn't have infinite power. They could only suggest things, and then see if those were accepted by the whole clan. Then there was the Great Priestess, she ruled the clans and decided what they would do. She could pass laws onto the people. He wondered how the heads and the Priestess were chosen, but that would have to wait. Shura could probably answer his questions.

"We will go to the summit." The Kazekage decided, looking at Shura and Chaizen. She gave him a smile back, and the Wanderer laughed loudly again. The tan man stood up, saying something to Shura and then left. Gaara glanced around, noticing Kan gone yet again and Toru snoring softly on one of the bigger pillows. Council appointed escort, eh? He glanced at Shura. The brown eyed woman was staring at him intently. She didn't seem to be afraid of him anymore.

At first he could sense her unease around him, but she had done her best to cover it. Now she seemed quite relaxed in his presence. Maybe it was the Wanderers. Being in their presence was like tossing a blanket of calm and safety over yourself. Truly, entering the tent was like entering a different world. Here, he was Gaara, not a Kage, not a shinobi, just Gaara. And he liked it. There weren't any stared full of hatred, nor frightened screams or hushed whispers. There was just calm, music, food and the sweet scent of the pipes.

"Kazekage-sama, Chaizen said he was going to find someone willing to host us for the duration of the trip. He says that it won't take longer than a day, if the wind is with us." Shura addressed him.

"Thank you for your hard work." Gaara told her the sentence he often heard from Temari, hoping it brought the same fluttering feeling of satisfaction in her stomach as it did in his. "And it's just Gaara, Shura."

She smiled at him. "Forgive me, I'm used to being formal to my superiors."

Kan re-entered the small tent again, grinning ear to ear. Shura gave him a once over. Nothing out of the ordinary. So why did he look like the cat that ate the canary, caught the fish and then sipped some milk? Her lips formed a smug smirk.

"Did you finally get a girlfriend, Kan?" She asked him teasingly. The shinobi in question looked mortified. He glanced at the Kage, seeing to reaction there he kicked Shura lightly with his foot.

"No, you brat, I got the recipes and the spices from one of the girls that were cooking." At this Shura's face lit up. Gaara would testify that in her mind she was imagining all the food that had just left the small table and more. Kan chuckled, sitting down onto the pillows.

"Do we have a plan, Kazekage-sama?"

"We will travel with Chaizen and his clan to the summit." Gaara declared calmly. Kan nodded. They both glanced at the sleeping Toru. The shinobi, if he even was one, had a bit of drool going down his lip and onto the beautiful pillow he was hugging in his sleep. Shura slipped next to his relaxed body and shuffled him so he was lying on her lap.

Chaizen moved the light fabric of their tent to the side, poking his head in. "Come." He said in his thick accent. Kan moved to Shura and she maneuvered Toru onto Kan's back. Securing the out cold shinobi, Kan got up and left the tent. Gaara and Shura followed.

Chaizen led them through the flurry of dancing people, tents, pillows, rugs, smoke and around some tables. He headed towards one of the kitchen-like spaces and hauled himself onto the boat. The Wanderer tossed a small rope ladder down to the shinobi. Gaara however, took charge, using his sand to create a moving platform and hoist them onto the deck. He wanted to avoid awakening Toru. That would most certainly be a bother. Chaizen laughed at him, looking quite amazed. Kan had stiffened for a bit, but then relaxed after he saw that the sand meant no harm. Shura, however, she was trembling. She tried to hide her reaction to the blood smelling sand, but Gaara felt the vibrations through it. He couldn't quite explain it, but her fear hurt him.

Chaizen motioned for them to follow him down the deck and then bellow. Gaara couldn't see a lot, but the light from torches lit up the way somewhat, so he didn't have any problems finding his footing. Soon they found themselves in a rather large room. There were bunk beds on each side of the room and there was also a cupboard of sorts on the far end of the room. They all surveyed their surroundings. Chaizen spoke to Shura quickly. She nodded along with him.

"He says that there are two bunks that we can use, and that the others may use either a futon or a hammock. They are stocked in that cupboard." Shura translated once more for them.

"Kazekage-sama, Shura, take the bunks, Toru and I can take the futons." Kan suggested. Chaizen was opening up the cupboard and taking out a futon by now. He motioned towards the two bunks next to the cupboard and grinned at Gaara.

"That won't be necessary." The Kazekage cut them off. "I don't sleep. Shura, ask him If they have a night guard."

The words caused a bit of silence. Kan was now moving towards the bunks, where he placed the still dead to the world Toru. He was looking anywhere except at the Kage. Shura was fidgeting and staring intently at her feet as she asked Chaizen about the night watch. He looked at each member of the group slowly, trying to figure out the source of the tension that had suddenly arisen. When he couldn't find it, the tall man answered Shura and waved at Gaara to follow him. They left the two shinobi and the kunoichi in the berth.

Chaizen seemed relaxed as he led Gaara back up to the deck. The young Kage followed him, remembering the path in case he needed to go back to his team. They didn't exit the huge tent through the same entrance, but through another gap in the fabrics. The tan Wanderer then climbed a rope ladder up the fabric of the sails and into the crow's nest. It was a long climb, but Gaara didn't mind it much. At the top two people were waiting for them.

A man and a woman, both tan and tall. The man surveyed Gaara, eyeing his red hair and the love kanji on his forehead. He then grinned and started speaking while looking at the Kage. The redhead looked to Chaizen. The man laughed, and the sound carried through the silent desert. He then talked to the night watch and the man that had spoken was now nodding enthusiastically. He looked about Gaara's age, maybe a bit younger. The woman still hadn't moved from her spot, she hadn't even acknowledged Chaizen and Gaara's arrival. The warrior leader now turned to Gaara. He pointed at the male with the large grin on his face.

"Lim." He said. Gaara nodded. Then he pointed at the woman. "Sul." Then she turned and Gaara saw. Down her face ran a huge scar. It caught her eye, making it completely white. Around the damaged tissue were golden designs on the skin, going along with the damage down her neck and further down her shirt. She frowned at him, but said nothing. Lim looked between them in curiosity. He smiled at Gaara after a moment of their silent stare down. Sul barked something at Chaizen, clear distaste in her words and then climbed swiftly further up the mast. She became still after a few moments, the only thing moving were her clothes and hair in the wind.

Chaizen patted Gaara on the shoulder, and left down the ladder back to the tent. Lim was still looking at Gaara with a grin. His smile reminded the Kage of Naruto. The youth pointed at Gaara's forehead, at his kanji and then gave him a series of ecstatic nods. He rummaged through his tribal shorts for a bit, pulling out a small package. Lim then unraveled it and showed its contents to the young Kage. Gaara bent forward, curiosity about this strange tribe getting to him.

There was a small decorated bottle with something golden in it. Beside it lay a tiny brush. Lim then rolled up his sleeve and showed Gaara a complicated looking golden tattoo. Then he licked his finger and rubbed it over one part of the marking, slowly, it came off, leaving a trail of golden specks on the youths finger and arm. Lim gestured to Gaara and to his tools and then to the mark on his arm. Gaara stopped for a moment. Well, he did want to gain their trust and experience their culture. And, he had to admit that the body art looked absolutely amazing. He gave a small nod to the anticipating youth receiving an ecstatic grin. He thought that the boy would start jumping up and down at some point.

Lim caught his arm, leading him to the edge of the crow's nest. They sat comfortably onto the padded railing, Gaara in front of Lim. The boy motioned for the Kage's hand, but the shinobi stopped him. The boy looked disappointed until he noticed sand falling from the redhead's body and flowing into the gourd on his back. Gaara unfastened the heavy burden and placed it with a light clank onto the floor. Then he rolled up his sleeve and gave his left arm to the young Wanderer, sand armor less.

Lim sat there gaping at the sand performance, not even accepting the offered canvas. He then clapped excitedly giving Gaara another wide smile. Lim took out his tools and unfastened the decorated cap on the glass bottle. Time to start his next work. He scanned the night desert with the corner of his eye, and applied paint to the shinobi's skin. It was going to be another masterpiece.

**That will be all folks! **

**I hope you are still keeping track of all the OCs, cause there are only more on the way :P**

**Don't worry though, we get to see a bit of Kankuro and Temari in the next chapter, so you will be on familiar ground!**

**I would love to hear what you think, give me something, preferably a review!**

**Until next time :D**


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait! Here is yet another chapter :) **

**First, I would like to thank sockmonkies4ever, anamorales25 and Goikuchan for the favs and follows, you guys are my sunshine! **

**Next I would like to thank Goikuchan yet again for being my first review! I did in fact jump around the house and I did do a little happy dance, I will put a reply to the rev on the bottom :D**

**And last, I am officially beta-hunting! I really need a second opinion and some help with my grammar dilemmas :P**

**Now we have our playlist for this chapter:**

**Joe Hisaishi – Ashitaka Sekki **

**Toshiro Masuda – Naruto's Daily Life**

**Toshiro Masuda – Kakashi's theme**

**Kawai Kenji – Nahji no Uta (Also spelled Naaji or Naji)**

**Chapter three is dedicated to Goikuchan and it is the chapter in which:**

**Gaara retaliates… **

_Once upon a time, when the Spirit world and the Material word were one, there was a woman. She was not known across the land for her beauty, but for her skill. She was a magnificent dancer. It was said that when you watched her dance, you fell into a trance and forgot time and space. She lived safely, behind tall walls of the city, away from all the raging spirits in the Wilds. _

_One day, a famous warrior, leader of the Hunters who roamed the Wilds, asked to see her dance. It was his one wish, and then he could continue being a Hunter for the King until the end of his time. The King of the City allowed the woman to leave the borders, just to please his best warrior. _

_When the woman arrived to the warrior's camp, he set up a huge tent for her to dance in. They dined together and smoked the pipe to show their peace. Then the woman started dancing. The warrior and his tribe fell into a trance and didn't notice the spirits that had come to the camp. The woman noticed them and kept dancing, enchanting the beasts. She danced and danced and danced. _

_The pearls from her hair fell onto the ground, creating stars. The veil she used flew to the heavens creating the oceans. Her bracelets full of bells finally stopped ringing and all the spectators regained their senses. The spirits then, walked away, their rage forgotten and the warrior decided to keep the woman forever. _

_They had upset the rhythm of the world. She had flipped the Earth and the Sky for the Hunters and the warrior had fallen in love with the King's dancer, disobeying his master. The King enraged sentenced them to wander endlessly in the Wilds. _

Shura had gotten up pretty late that morning. She did however wake before both Kan and Toru. She wondered outside slowly, only to see some of the Wanderers begin packing up everything. They would have to have the ships ready for departure by the time the sun came up. She caught one of the passing men and asked him where Chaizen was. Since the leader was still out cold from the partying, she decided to wander around. Her side was stinging. She needed to change the bandages and wash it before it became infected.

Shura had found one of the kitchens, asking there for some medicine and water. She had been surprised the first time Chaizen had addressed her. His accent and his dialect were impossible for her to distinguish. She had been taught only the basics of the formal language after all. Shura had to keep reminding all the Wanderers to slow down a bit and repeat their sentences sometimes, but she was getting used to it. The woman that was smoking a pipe and drinking in the kitchen gave her the items. After re-dressing her wound Shura felt better. She couldn't wait until they stopped at an oasis. After a day of running she was sweaty and really just wanted a nice cool bath.

She had walked back to the deck of the ship where she had slept. The huge tent was being taken down. There were Wanderers running here and there, pulling and untangling the large sails. They would have the ships set in less than an hour. Shura noticed Gaara and a Wanderer youth sitting on the railing. It looked like they were talking. Interested she had walked over to them. The tan youth saw her first, and he happily waved her over. Gaara gave her a long look. Then he said a sentence in his monotone. What surprised her was that it was in the Wanderer's language.

She took a moment to understand it, with the weird accent and the obvious slang. This youth had probably taught the Kage a bit. Then she got the meaning and her face went tomato red. Gaara looked at her, confused. He had just greeted her and asked how she was, why was she blushing? He turned to Lim, only to see him holding in his laughter. The Wanderer looked like he was going to burst any moment. Gaara totally fell for it. He got tricked by this youth. Shura coughed, getting his attention back. The red was almost gone from her face.

"Good morning to you, too, Gaara-san." She said. "And please don't repeat that to a woman again, unless you are intimate with her."

Now it was Gaara's turn to blush. His ears went red and it spread down to his neck a bit. He now understood why Sul wasn't too thrilled about his morning greeting. She could've told him something, though, instead of just walking away without a word. And Lim's hysterical reaction to it was explained quite clearly, too. Shura coughed and mumbled something about getting breakfast. Lim jumped up, introducing himself to Shura and offering to escort her.

"Gaara." The Kage stood up , too. "We food go." The Wanderer connected the foreign words clumsily. The Kazekage gave him a small smile and followed. The trio stumbled upon a groggy Chaizen, who looked like he had just woken up. He greeted them all and they walked towards the still-intact kitchen area. Shura again greeted the woman who was still smoking her pipe. She received a nod and followed Chaizen and Lim to get a plate.

They all settled onto some pillows from last night, the tables already gone. Sul joined them in a moment, Chaizen introducing the stoic woman to Shura. They exchanged polite nods. Gaara found himself a bit, dare he say, embarrassed about the greeting he had given Sul that morning and a bit jealous that Shura had gotten an acknowledgement from the warrior woman.

He ate quickly, in silence, until tan fingers snatched a piece of fruit from his plate and put something suspiciously green and evil looking in its place. He glared at Lim on instinct. It was weird, how easily he had gotten accustomed to the childish Wanderer. Maybe the youth had too much in common with Naruto. Gaara hadn't been a victim of the blonde Jinchuriki's pranks, but he had heard rumors about the not so hidden talent his friend possessed.

A loud shout interrupted Gaara's meal again. He looked up from his plate, only to see Chaizen turning blue. The warrior quickly downed his Fruit Water, giving Lim the evil eye. Sul sighed, hitting Lim's wondering fingers. Her eyes promised that she would stab him with her fork the next time he tried to steal her food. Lim laughed nervously, switching seats swiftly yet again. Now he was in between Gaara and Shura. The tan youth talked quickly while eating, not paying attention to his plate, but to the woman next to him. Gaara used that chance to slip the green thing back onto Lim's plate. The youth didn't notice in his conversation and he grabbed the item and swallowed it. Then he turned a very nice shade of green in Gaara's opinion. Needless to say further chaos ensued.

After the rowdy and rather quick breakfast, Sul left in a hurry towards the berth. She did spend the whole night like a gargoyle, so Gaara didn't blame her. He had done the same thing many times, and he knew the way your body felt stiff and uncomfortable when you moved in the morning. He just never had the luxury of sleep after night watch. Chaizen explained, through Shura, that they had to get ready to leave before the sun goes all the way up. Gaara ended up getting dragged to help with the rigging by Lim, while Shura went to help fold the many carpets and clothes and store all the soft pillows. On his way to one of the ships, Gaara saw Kan with a long haired woman. She was showing him some kind of plants, squishing them with her fingers and then letting the older shinobi taste it and smell it. It seemed like he was fitting in fine, despite the language barrier.

~~~~~ Page Break Which I have no idea how to put in ~~~~~

Toru slowly came to. He sat up, only to hit his head on the bunk above him. He looked up, still half asleep. His bed didn't have a top bunk. Then, the whole place shook and leaned to the side. Toru flew from his bed and greeted the floor with his face. He jumped up now, fully awake. Frantically he looked around him, identifying everything he could see. It looked like an inside of a ship. Right! The ships! He had been selected to go with the Kazekage-sama on a mission. They were in the hideout of those savages. He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep so easily. He had to give it to them, savage or not, their food was exquisite.

The ship swayed again and then did a small jump, causing Toru to fly to the side. Panic overtook him and he flew towards the exit. He needed to get out. They were under attack. Where was Kazekage-sama? Being near that man did scare him, but next to him, Toru would be safe. He wouldn't need to fight or get hurt with a Jinchuriki next to him.

Toru missed a couple of steps in his haste. Another lurch of the ship threw him against the wall. He stumbled up and onto the deck. Wind hit him in the face and he coughed for a bit, trying to get the sand out of his eyes. What he saw shocked him. The huge vessel was running across the desert, gliding on top of the sand as if riding the waves. As they descended a dune, the ship swayed and then jumped as it went up another one.

His ears were filled with the howling of the wind and shouts in the strange language of the Wanderers. He noticed them running around carrying things, being generally busy. Some of them, men and women alike, were swaying on the ropes and going up and down the mast like monkeys. He saw Kan's sandy colored Jonin vest and headed towards him. The shinobi was following around one of the Wanderer women, doing what she instructed through hand motions. Toru frowned at that. He had calmed down a bit now, noticing that they weren't under attack.

He looked around once more, trying to locate that woman who was with them, Shina or something and the Kazekage-sama. He saw the redhead first and changed course. Kazekage-sama was currently pulling a thick rope, along with one of the savage boys. When someone from the top shouted, they both stopped pulling. Toru finally made it, after a few more sways of the vessel, to the Kazekage-sama. He noticed that the Kage was gourd-less. The redhead gave him a small nod when he saw Toru. Then the ship lurched again, sending Toru flying. The shinobi braced for another painful impact with the wood of the vessel, but instead strong arms caught him. He opened his eyes, only to see the savage boy grinning down at him. The tan youth steadied him, still smiling. Toru pushed him away in a hasty motion, straightening his rumpled clothes.

The tan youth threw a confused look in Gaara's direction. The Kage was frowning at the sand shinobi. Toru gathered himself, puffing out his chest. He nodded to the Kazekage. The ship jumped onto another dune, causing Toru's stomach to lurch. He felt terrible. He was also dirty, sweaty, in last night's clothes and he needed to go to the bathroom.

"Good morning, Kazekage-sama." He greeted the man, as if nothing had happened. Gaara's frown deepened.

"Good morning." He answered, his voice a monotone, not betraying anything. The youth beside Gaara was looking in between him and the newcomer. Lim quite liked the redhead. His comrade, he wasn't really sure about. The man seemed afraid and disgusted by him. He didn't like it.

Lim nodded to Gaara, gave him a grin and leapt up into the sails and rigging. Gaara looked at Toru for a moment. The man didn't look too good. He seemed quite green in fact. Gaara opened his mouth to ask the shinobi if he was fine, when the man in question ran towards the railing and hurled. Gaara could hear snickering from above. Obviously Lim was having a blast. He walked to the sick shinobi and cautiously patted his back. Toru didn't react. Chaizen passed them, pausing in his order giving to laugh boomingly.

"Water." He told Gaara. "Water good." He said with finality, nodding to himself. Then he left, laughing. Gaara wondered which water the warrior was talking about, the normal kind or the intoxicating Fruit Water. He remembered the way it knocked the vomiting shinobi out last night and smirked to himself. While getting the sick shinobi under deck Gaara caught sight of a grinning Lim swinging on the ropes as the ship swayed. He looked pretty smug.

~~~~~~ Lookie another page break!~~~~~

Kankuro sat in the Kazekage's office, doing all the paperwork. Gaara had gone and done it yet again. He hadn't been Kazekage all that long, yet he kept going against the council. True, all he had done until now, turned out quite well, but going on a mission? At first Kankuro thought that the Council would reject the whole idea all together. When they didn't he got suspicious. It turned out that not everyone in the Council considered Gaara safe. Sending him out on a mission, to the Wanderers, was a perfect opportunity. They even gave him a formal escort. Of course, Gaara figured it all out, and still went. Temari was going to kill him.

The door of the Kazekage's office slammed open. Speak of the devil. A strangely calm kunoichi entered the room. She looked a little tired from her three day trip back to Suna, but otherwise, Temari was in perfect shape. To kill him that is. Kankuro sank low in Gaara's chair, abandoning his brush in favor of the sturdy desk's sanctuary. After all, you never knew when the giant fan was going to leave Temari's back and greet Kankuro's head.

"Is it true?" Her question was so quiet that he barely caught it. It was an icy tone. Gaara owed him one for this. Kankuro peered carefully over the piled up papers. It had only been two days, and he couldn't keep up with it already. He had no idea how the Kages that actually slept did their paperwork.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kankuro smiled at his sister, looking cautiously at the fan. Her eyes narrowed.

"You let him go on a mission." She continued. "You let him go to those Wanderers." Now she was advancing. Alarm bells were ringing in Kankuro's head. "Even if it's Gaara, those people are dangerous." She was now right in front of him, and she sounded quite defeated. Temari had, after all, had contact with the desert dwellers. Gaara had wanted her to come with him for the mission, but he didn't know when she would return to Suna, so he had formed another team.

"I let him go _because_ he is Gaara." Kankuro gave her a small smile. "Not like I could've stopped him, anyway. You know how he is when he decides something." The young woman scoffed. "He will be fine." Kankuro told her. Temari looked at him softly. Silence took the room. She placed her fan on the floor and leaned it against Gaara's desk.

"Give me half of that." She demanded the papers. Kankuro looked ecstatic.

"Great! Help me keep my head above water until he gets back!" All he got in return was a silent glare.

~~~~~ I will figure out how to put them in the online form eventually...~~~~~~

The sun had risen all the way up by the time Gaara was shooed away from the deck by Chaizen. He found working on a ship very interesting and he enjoyed it. Lim had left him a few hours ago, the sleepless night taking its toll on the energetic youth. Toru was safely put back into his bed, along with a bowl. Kan was working on the deck with the long haired woman who knew about spices. Gaara leaned that her name is Kara and that she is one of the best cooks. Shura was nowhere to be seen.

Gaara stumbled down the stairs. He couldn't remember the last time he did so much labor. Maybe all the office hours had made him soft. He checked on Toru. The shinobi had finally fallen asleep. Even though Gaara wasn't too happy about his escort, he wished he could help Toru feel better. He wondered if he should give the shinobi some Fruit Water. Gaara had carefully stayed away from it this morning, but at the mere thought of the heavenly liquid, he tasted it on his tongue and wished for it.

During the day, the men and women that weren't working on the deck rested in the berth. The pillows and carpets and all those fabrics were put inside, creating a rather stuffy, but comfortable space. He joined one of the circles of people. They all shifted a bit, creating room for him to sit. A small girl was sitting to his left. She extended some of her sweets to him cautiously. He took one, thanking her like Lim taught him, all while praying that the prankster had actually taught him to say thank you. The child smiled at him, shocking him and went back to eating her sweets. He put the treat he was given into his mouth and relaxed. The sweet chocolaty taste spread through his mouth. He didn't care much for sweets, but he had to admit that it wasn't too bad.

Gaara noticed then that the ship was gradually slowing down. He looked to the group he was sitting with. They were all picking themselves up and taking bags and clothes with them. He wondered what was going on. Had they already arrived to the summit? That was unlikely. He needed to find out how long it would take them to get there. He was a bit anxious leaving the village for a long time. Kankuro was probably buried in papers by now. That is, if Temari hadn't come back and killed him already. Maybe they ran out of wind? Or there was something wrong with the ship? At times like this he wished he knew more of the strange language.

The Kazekage followed the group of people to the deck. They had indeed stopped. And even better, they had stopped at an oasis. Gaara wasn't a big fan of baths, but he could use one right now. And a change of clothes while he was at it. He waited by the railing while all the Wanderers went off the ship, setting up a small tent between the ships to create more shade. Men and women alike were fetching water, preparing supplies, washing clothes and dispersing to different parts of the oasis to wash themselves. Children were running around, playing in the water and interrupting the adults in their work.

Gaara felt at peace. There were no stares. He couldn't feel the constant pressure in the back of his head, making him aware of all the people, whispering and fidgeting. It had gotten better, but you couldn't change a whole village in a second, and Gaara was aware of that. He wished they understood him better. He wished they understood that he had changed his ways. He was going to make sure his feelings reached them. Until then, he could bear to relax a bit with these people who had accepted them in a second. The Wanderers weren't too fond of shinobi, but all of the people he had met waited and formed their opinions after spending time with him. He couldn't quite explain how he felt about that, but it was a good feeling.

"Gaara-san, are you coming?" He hadn't even noticed Shura and Kan coming. The older woman was giving him a soft smile. He nodded, following the duo.

"Maybe we should get Minami-san?" The woman wondered out loud. Kan shrugged at her and looked to the Kage. The redhead didn't give them the ultimate answer, he just brushed the question off. Shura turned around, running below deck.

"I'll catch up!" She yelled over her shoulder, head disappearing below the wood. Gaara and Kan continued on. They were soon stopped by Chaizen. The tall man waved them over and showed them towards the water where mostly men and some children were. He pointed to the soaps and shampoos.

"Lim come." The Wanderer warrior said brokenly, looking at Gaara. Neither the Kage nor the shinobi quite got the meaning of that, but neither was going to admit it out loud. Gaara decided he would just wait and see, while Kan debated if there was any theory he hadn't covered about soaps and contamination. His theories, of course, lead towards imminent death, pain, carnage and gore, and he was the only one who could realize what was happening and stop it. He supposed he brought some of his overactive imagination from the time of the Third War.

They stripped and joined the bathing men. Soon a green looking Toru and a smiling Lim arrived. Lim dropped off a package first, and then jumped into the water with a giant splash. Toru on the other hand, folded his clothes carefully, put them as far away a possible from the clothes of the Wanderers and the closest possible to the Kazekage's clothes and then calmly joined the men in the water. He glared in distaste at one of the children that splashed him while playing.

When they were all finished, Lim stopped them from putting on their shinobi clothes, offering hem each a bundle of tribal clothing. He looked adorably happy when Gaara and Kan accepted. The Kage thanked him in the Wanderer language. Toru on the other hand, looked at the clothes, inspecting them slowly. Better than the sweaty, rumpled ones, he decided getting slowly dressed.

The outfits were similar, short decorated loose pants, similar to harem pants and a sash at the waist. Lim showed them all how to do a fairly complicated knot at the hip. To complete the outfit, they were each given a plain light shirt. Kan also accepted a decorated short vest, which Gaara declined. He was too hot already.

Soon, after washing their dirty clothes and leaving them to dry, they met up with Shura and Chaizen, who were eating a light snack with some of the Wanderers. The kunoichi had changed, too. She was wearing light pants and a decorated long shirt, leaving her feet bare. Kan plopped down next to Shura, greeting them all in normal language. Chaizen passed them each a golden goblet of Fruit Water. Gaara cautiously sipped some. He noted that Toru wasn't touching the drink. Shura and Chaizen were laughing together, it seemed like they were already on their second or third glass. Kan nibbled on some of the fruit from the small table. Pretty soon Lim joined them, shirtless, now with a bandana around his head. The woman Gaara had seen with Kan earlier, Kara, followed the dark haired youth. She threw a smile in Kan's direction. A funny three way conversation ensued, where Shura was translating back and forth.

The Wanderers were pretty interested in their lives. They asked how it was to live in a village, not constantly moving around. Kara was interested in their food and Chaizen asked about their blades. He explained that he was a blade master and that he found the shinobi kenjutsu fascinating. Kan in turn, asked about the way they made the Fruit Water, Gaara would never admit that, but he, too, was very interested to hear about that. However Chaizen just mysteriously smiled, telling them it's a secret. They also learned about the ships and how they sailed the sands. Apparently, there were some kind of scales, Shura translated Cloud Guppy, but Gaara was doubtful, which they sewed into a cloth, and then put on the underside of the hull to make it float as soon as it picked up speed.

A man interrupted their conversation, whispering something in Chaizen's ear and then leaving. The tall Wanderer stood up. He said something fast to Shura and left.

"There is a visitor, he says." The kunoichi translated. Toru stopped eating in a second. He looked around frantically. The Kage was still without his gourd. He looked quite relaxed, too. Toru felt fear grip him. Maybe he could fight off the new savage if needed even without his sand? There was plenty lying around. Gaara noticed the shinobi's twitching, but didn't react. He considered Chaizen's tribe peaceful. He considered them to be under the warrior's protection. The Kage looked at the Wanderers. They weren't worried. He deemed panic unnecessary and sipped some of the Fruit Water. Kan was probably thinking of all the possibilities and how to prevent them anyway. The War veteran was too cautious. Shura, too, didn't look very bothered with the news of the visitor. He briefly wondered whether Temari had caught up to them in her rage. No reason to overreact, the redhead decided, and if they turned out to be a threat, he could take them.

Soon, Chaizen returned with a kid in tow. Gaara noticed that the youth wasn't a clan member right away. Their clothes were completely different. While the tan warrior wore clothes similar to what Gaara himself was wearing now, the kid that followed him was dressed in what looked like a really large poncho and short pants, with no shoes. Some Wanderers did go barefoot, but most had sandals and flip flops, because of the heat of the sand. The kid was tan from the sun, too and had blonde hair. He was scrawny and tiny compared to the beast of the man next to him. The members of the circle quickly moved, making room for the boy. They all settled and the boy gazed at all of them slowly with his unnaturally red eyes. Gaara couldn't quite pinpoint it, but something about the kid was off. He seemed… old, even though he looked about ten. Ruby eyes locked with Gaara's green ones. A flicker of amusement and surprise flashed in the red depths. The Kage noticed that the boy had no presence whatsoever. It was like he was there, with his normal chakra and all, and yet wasn't. The kid then smiled at all of them and spoke in their language, surprising them.

"Hey y'all, I'm Jin. Most of ya' know me by the name Devil's Merchant, tho'. Wanna buy somethin'?"

**And there we have it folks! A little bit more of Gaara's mischievous side. He likes to retaliate ;) **

**We have yet another OC! Oh my, what am I going to do with all of these? You shall wait and see heheheheheee~ My plans are absolutely diabolic! Tell me what you think of them? Does Toru annoy you? Do you like Kan's paranoia? Is Lim adorable? Oooh I want to draw all of these guys :D **

**Goikuchan: Thank you very much for the review! Oh you made me rush to update sooo much :P I'm motivated now! Yoooosh! **

**I am unbelievably happy that you can keep track of all the OCs, cause there is a ton of them, as I am creating a whole new… well… everything… **

**And Gaara... I worry about him at times... He gets a bit out of control under my fingers xD I adore him and I am very happy that you like my take on what is happening inside his head. I think that even though he is a shinobi and a Jinchuriki he is still very human, at least he becomes much more human after Naru pounds his head in. My take on him is a bit child-like and I sometimes worry I am going OOC with him, I actually rewrite him a lot xD I think that he lost a piece of his life, his teens and a part of his childhood, to Shukaku and that he is a tad childish and maybe even a bit of a prankster. Even though his sense of humor is dark, and he is a serious Kage at times, he has a part of him that he doesn't show when he is with others, and the Wanderers cough Lim cough made that part of him come out and play. Everything around him is new here and he wants to try it and explore and experience it for himself. And then of course, decide whether he should destroy the threat, because the Wanderers are thieves, or not. To be honest, I'm pretty sure that Gaara could take them, warriors or not xD **

**Oh my, I went all out with this reply :P I hope that you will stay with this story, I am going to try and update fast :D **

**Give me more reviews y'all! I eat those and then spit out chapters :D **


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello my dear readers, fanfiction writers and casual guests! I welcome you to yet another chapter of Sand Castles! **

**If you had been paying attention yesterday, you would've seen me flying over the Moon! I have two more reviews! Sooooo happy! Big thanks to anamorales25 and The Kazekage of Suna! I was on a roll after getting more input, and wrote like a beast :D**

**I would like to say that this is not my favorite chapter, actually I find it a bit boring and a bit of a filler, but I needed to give a different side this time, I pray that the OCs are not killing you guys xD**

**My playlist for this chapter is:**

**Shiva in Exile - ****Breathing**

**Shiva in Exile - Golden Rain **

**Shiva in Exile - Ride the Storm**

**I adore this band as you can see hehe~**

**So today I give you Chapter four:**

**In which the clan arrives to the summit…**

She awoke with a start. She never was a heavy sleeper. These days, she woke up even faster. Soon was the only thing that rang in her mind. Soon she would see her clan again. Soon she would hear all the stories. Soon she would be home for a little while.

The black haired teen got up, making her bed. She quickly changed into white robes. In the morning she had to undergo a ritual of purification. At least that how it used to be. Now, the girls just got together for a bath in the Spirit Springs. The boys had a different ritual that they did. She never discovered what it was. And all of them were pretty tight-lipped about it. Knowing them, they all discussed women while doing the ritual. How typical.

The Grand Priestess allowed them much freedom. She wanted them not to believe blindly in the religion, but to see why the rituals were created. The woman wanted them to be themselves. She wanted them to blossom into fine flowers and to keep their beliefs alive. She encouraged them to think, and through that, to fall in love with the beliefs, just like she had. The Grand Priestess allowed them freedom and expected them to, in return, respect the religion.

The girl exited her room, closing the old wooden door behind her. She followed the stone corridor all the way to the newly built wooden staircase. The whole city was very old. The stone structures were ancient, some broken and partially unusable. However, under the reign of the current Grand Priestess, said to be a descendant of the First Grand Priestess herself, the city was cleaned, some of it restored and it was back in everyday use. This was the place where the Summit of the Clans would be hosted.

"Kisara!" A clear voice rang from above. The girl, Kisara, looked up to see her friend on top of the stairs. She gave her a smile and waited for her to catch up.

"Excited?" The taller girl asked.

"Oh, Eileen, you have no idea!" Kisara answered happily. A large smile was on her face as she told Eileen again about her clan. The priestess-in-training was terribly homesick. These days, when the summit was so close, she kept staring of into space, thinking about her family. Eileen herself missed her clan, but not as much. The girl had grown up with her aunt and uncle, along with their three children. However they were all warriors, and they were very proud of it and focused on it. When she turned out to have the Sense, they were happy and sent her to train to be a priestess. She went through a period of homesickness, but in the end, she preferred it here, with all the rest of the trainees. She liked being similar to others for a change.

Kisara on the other hand, she was one of the rare priestesses to come from the clan that ruled the Pale Mountain and the Western Starsea. Eileen remembered when the girl had first arrived. She had been a tiny, afraid but curious little thing. She had gotten used to everything in record time and then proceeded to make their lives miserable with pranks.

Eileen was rather jealous of Kisara's skills as a priestess, though. The girl was horrible at everything they learnt in theory, but when they applied it, she was impressive. If Eileen had to choose the best dancer in their group, it would probably be Kisara. The girl could enchant with her skill. She also understood the Spirit World in a way that was inexpiable. It was a running joke that Kisara could be great, if she just focused a bit more. The teen however, dreamed of adventures and not of circles. She didn't want to spend her life being a door to the other world. She didn't want to learn about politics or about history of the clans. She didn't want to learn anything by heart, she seemed to forget it as soon as she heard it. Instead Kisara 'winged it' and went with the flow. Her friend was truly amazing in many ways.

Eileen realized that Kisara was silent, which was unusual, so she turned to her friend. Who wasn't there anymore. Eileen looked behind her, to find the black haired girl groaning on the floor, in a very un-ladylike position.

"Did you decide to attack the floor again, Kisa? What did the poor thing ever do to you?" Eileen walked back, extending a hand to help the clumsy girl up. Great at dancing or not, the kid had two left feet.

"It was challenging me. I don't think it would be fair for me to just ignore our usual morning greeting." Kisara accepted the help and got back on her feet. "Besides, I found a flower for you!" She exclaimed happily, showing Eileen the impromptu gift. The white blossom had come from one of the many vines that grew in the corridor. Eileen accepted the gift with a laugh, putting it in her hair. The girls continued towards the Springs.

Chatter filled the corridors they were using soon and the duo entered a bigger room. It was lit by small openings in the ceiling and the blue crystals that lined the walls were reflecting the light, causing the whole space to look ethereal. There was clear water, coming from the walls, creating small waterfalls, filling up a couple of basins and flowing further down into the ground. The rocks were all light blue, speckled with minerals and shaped to accommodate the bathing girls better. This was one of the sacred places of the ancient city, the Spirit Springs, and during the morning hours it was filled with white clad priestesses-in-training. They bathed, braided each other's hair and talked.

Eileen and Kisara joined their friends in the Springs. They found out that the clan that ruled the Red Forest and the Cloudlake was already here. They would have to greet them properly. Kisa couldn't wait to hear all the stories that these people brought. That was her favorite part of the summit. She could hear all the different accents, meet all kinds of different people and discover the variations of the same culture that they shared.

Eileen got out of the springs, leaving to get dressed. She draped her, now wet, white robes over her arm as she walked. Here, wandering the halls without clothes was a given. They were all children of this world, just like they were children of the Spirit world. They were born naked and they died naked. In their separate sections the boys and girls learned to live without the constriction of clothes, just like in the beginning of times. Eileen wasn't too fond of it, but she got used to feeling exposed. No one here was looking. No one here was going to attack her. She needed no hidden weapon.

The girl climbed the spiral stairs yet again and entered her room. There she chose the ceremonial priestess-in-training garb. It consisted of a long dress, made of pale blue, light material that flowed like liquid, a decorated sash around the waist and a haori-like light garment with complicated designs on it that was worn over all that. Eileen tied her sash properly, without a bow or knot. By then Kisara had invaded her room to help her with her hair. She put Eileen's locks up in ceremonial braid, putting pearls, gems and flowers in it carefully. The long hair started like a ponytail and then became a series of complicated decorated twists and knots. Eileen in turn helped Kisa with her dark mass of locks.

The duo soon finished getting ready for the day and left together yet again. Today there were preparations to be made. They weren't going to meditate and study and practice their Sense, instead they would have to prepare the city for the arrival of the clans. Most of the rooms in the old city were now available for use, but even then, some of them weren't ready to receive guests. The boys were mostly in charge of carrying things up and down the long spiral staircases while the girls set sheets, dusted and washed. The Grand Priestess had even allowed them an occasional spirit summon to hurry the process. It was really helpful when you didn't have to carry beds from one part of the city to another, but you could fly it by skyfish. In the Grand Hall, where they usually dined, there were huge tables set up, which would be able to hold most of the food to feed the clans. It was a custom for the tribes to bring some of their own food, so the groups in charge of cooking had it a bit easier.

Kisara and Eileen were in a small group that was in charge of moving the debris from the lower levels of the city. By tonight those corridors and rooms had to be set up and usable. Eileen had already opened a small gate, allowing one of her loyal spirit summons to appear. The creature was similar to a rabbit, with a long tail and tiny, and useless, wings on its back. It was a very weak spirit, but it was useful in these situations. The creature pounded its, protected by a crystal shield, head against the larger rocks, breaking them down, and helped the group of about six people carry the debris out. From there on another group would carry the usable pieces where they were needed and take the rubble out of the city borders.

Kisara was envious of her friend's talent. She had no control whatsoever. She still hadn't gotten any loyal spirit companions. All the ones she met were either too strong and only interested in fighting or completely psycho and only wanted to eat humans. Pretty soon, Kisa had tied her sleeves up and bundled the long dress and haori in an inventive way to allow more movement. It was now that she wished she could wear here the things she usually wore while with her clan.

"Short break everyone!" A voice rang down the corridor. Ari was a tiny girl, in charge of cooking all the time. "Here are some refreshments!" She cheerfully called them all over. "Woooow, this place looks so much better now! Good work!~" She praised the tired group.

The boys and girls walked over each grabbing some lemonade and a sandwich. The priests-in-training had taken their shirts off by now, in an attempt to cool down. Kisara gave Ari a grin. The small girl blushed, returning the smile. Ari had arrived after Kisa, so the elder was usually in charge of the small thing. All in all, Ari reminded her of her own little brother. He was probably taller now, though.

"Sheesh, Kisa, let me fix that, please." Eileen came over, her spirit in tow. She grabbed Kisa's loose sash and tightened it, the younger girl choking in surprise when her air supply was lessened.

"You're going to kill me with your love, Eilee." She half glared at the perfectionist behind her. The boys all laughed at their antics.

"I see some girl on girl action over here." Zed gave his input, smirking at the only girls in their group. Ari blushed a deep tomato red, hiding her face behind her hands. Kisa laughed along with the boys, while Eileen looked murderous.

Zed was a tall youth, taller than most of them, and has been training for a priest for ages. No one really knew when he had arrived, but everyone knew him. He was handsome, but interested in the only girl he couldn't have, Eileen. His carefree attitude, perverse jokes and constant flirting did him no good in his wooing quest. He was the kind of guy who pulled the pigtails of the girl he liked. Unfortunately, Eileen was the kind of girl who would sick a spirit on such a guy. Kisa on the other hand, quite liked him. He was loyal, and he loved all of the children who came to train. He took care of everyone before himself, and gave great advice. His fashion sense was impeccable, too.

"Oh, Zed, you wouldn't recognize girl on girl even if it hit you in the face." Eileen retorted, her usual composure gone. It always ended up like this. Kisara only ever saw Zed rile Eileen up.

"I-I'm sorry everyone!" Ari interrupted. "I really need to get back." She grabbed the tray with the leftovers and the empty glasses and left. Kisa managed to get one more sandwich of the tray as the small girl was leaving. She separated the bread and ate what she liked from the inside, giving the rest to Eileen's spirit summon.

"You spoil them all too much." The spirit's mistress frowned at the priestess-in-training. Kisa grinned.

"Hey Kisa!" Zed called her over. "Can you get up there, where that arch is and dislodge that rock? The map shows a room behind it." The priest-in-training was bent over his parchment, studying the complex lines. The long haired girl looked where he was pointing. It was pretty high, but she could get there.

"Who do you take me for?" She asked him cheekily. "I will demonstrate my monkey skills to you once more, pitiful human!" She joked and jumped onto the sharp rocks. Without a movement wasted she climbed all the way to the top of the arch. Zed tossed her a tool carefully and she caught it. Soon the rocks were dislodged and Kisara was safely on solid ground yet again. The boys picked up the debris, carrying it out, while Eileen and Kisa dusted with their brooms.

Kisara's shoulder was itching terribly. She bent her arm awkwardly and scratched the itch. It stopped stinging. She picked up some smaller rocks and threw them on a pile. Kisara really couldn't wait to see her family. She wanted to see how much her little brother had grown. He was probably taller than her. She wanted to hear the stories he had now. Her shoulder was itching again. She scratched it, only to feel something weird on it. Maybe a piece of her hair had fallen out of the braid? Or her clothes? She grasped the thing and pulled it forward to see what it was. The thing was hairy, wriggling and eight legged. For a second everything was still. Then she threw the horrible arthropod as far as she could and did what any other girl would. Screamed her lungs out.

~~~~~Page break, have a cookie, please~~~~~

Shura still couldn't believe that the Devil's Merchant was so… normal. The child had joined their expedition towards the summit, along with his two camels. He was a little ball of joy. Shura had found out that the boy was talkative, which meant that he was switching between languages and talking his head off a mile an hour about nothing and everything. She found out that the kid loved sweets and that he could list all types of chocolate that existed. He talked about animals, countries and funny people that he had met during his travels. Shura, however, was too enamored by the cute child that she didn't notice what Gaara did.

He listened carefully to Jin. He had heard a lot about the Devil's Merchant. He was a master of trade, a silvertongue. He talked easily, not really telling anything important. The child was unnatural. Gaara had heard rumors, how the Merchant sold souls and magic. He didn't want to believe it, but now, when he was standing next to the child, he could see it. There was something terribly wrong with him. Gaara had carefully watched Chaizen while the man interacted with the Merchant. The warrior obviously trusted Jin. Gaara, on the other hand, wasn't sure if the man was just being manipulated by the strange child. After all, the Merchant already had Shura, a Chunin, cuddling him and hanging onto his every word.

The Kazekage could also see the benefit of having someone like Jin as an acquaintance. The child had precious items from the desert to sell, he traveled all over the place, without fear, and he had many powerful connections across the nation. The Merchant, too, dealt with information. He held an insane amount of power, just in his head. For a right price, he could probably bring blackmail on anyone in the Wind country.

Shortly after the Merchant had joined them, they had left the oasis, travelling towards the summit yet again. Gaara ended up working with Sul on the deck, Jin still on his mind. Lim had ended up with the Merchant and Shura, taking care of the sails. Chaizen was teaching Kan how to steer the ship, which was the cause of Toru's sandsickness getting even worse. The redhead had to admit that the constant leaning of the boat was rather unnecessary and annoying. He had bumped into Sul a few times and got a glare to rival Temari's. The Wanderer woman still refused to speak to him.

After a while, Kan gave up on steering, to the joy of many people on board. He came to relieve Gaara for a while. The redhead decided to go up and see what Lim and Shura were up to. He could also keep an eye on Jin while checking on the kunoichi. He climbed the rigging all the way to the crow's nest. He found it much easier to move around the ship in Wanderer clothing. He had even rolled his sleeves like Chaizen showed him. When he arrived into the nest, he saw the trio sitting and drinking. Lim jumped up in joy, pulling the Kage down and passing him a goblet of Fruit Water. By now, Gaara found it enjoyable and it didn't dull his senses like when he drank it the first time.

"Gaara-san, that tattoo!" Shura caught his attention. She was staring at the golden design Lim had made on his arm the previous day. Surprisingly, it hadn't washed at all when he bathed.

"That's a good friendship mark. Where'd ya' get it?" Jin was looking now, too, a grin on the child's face. Lim stared between the three of them in confusion. Gaara pointed at the Wanderer. He had no idea Lim had drawn a friendship mark. He had had no idea that there was a certain meaning to the tattoo. He had thought it was just a pretty tattoo. Now, when he saw Shura's face, he knew it wasn't that simple.

"What about it, Shura?" He asked the surprised kunoichi. Lim seemed to have caught onto what they were talking about and now he was rattling off in the strange language, but Shura wasn't paying attention.

"Gaara-san, it's a big deal to make a tattoo for someone. It's like giving a promise. I don't know how to really explain it." She frowned a bit. "Each person that draws those has their own style, and different tattoos are drawn for different people. Like to a parent, child, friend or a lover. To give one to someone is like saying you value them a lot."

Gaara stayed silent for a moment. He wasn't sure quite how to take this. He had thought that Lim was just drawing him a simple tribal tattoo because he wanted to. He really didn't think much about it at the moment. He looked at the Wanderer in question. The tan youth grinned at him. Obviously Jin had translated to him. Gaara thanked the youth Wanderer, in his language, stumbling over the foreign words. Lim's smile widened, if that was even possible by now. He threw his arm over Gaara's shoulder, surprising the redhead, and gave him an unexpected side hug. The sand didn't even react. Personal space didn't exist in this Wanderer's vocabulary and Gaara wasn't sure if he liked it or not yet. He, for sure, wasn't used to such familiarity.

But he did decide that he liked the fact that the youth was relaxed around him. The Wanderer kept, somehow, making Gaara's awareness vanish. His presence was relaxing, and no one escaped his pace. Shura, too, wasn't always paying attention to Gaara's every move with caution. Now she was laughing and joking, even with him. Lim said something to Shura in the Wanderer language, all while pointing at the redhead.

"He says he saw you had a 'Love' on your forehead, and thought he'd put a 'Friend' on your arm." Shura translated, giving Gaara a soft smile. Jin's face suddenly appeared in the Kage's field of vision.

"Oooooh~ And what are you going to tattoo down there, Kazekage-sama?" The Merchant gave him a cat-like grin, laughing at his own joke. Gaara on the other hand, felt hit sand twitch towards the child.

"Ohohoooo~ Scary, scary!" The red eyed child didn't look scared at all, he looked generally amused. Lim said something, quite confused which caused the two that understood him to burst laughing. As their conversation picked up, Gaara looked at his marked arm. He could bear to call this Wanderer his friend, he supposed.

"Woah! We have arrived! Look!" Jin's voice distracted the other two, which made them all miss a rare smile on the Kage's face.

Gaara also peered over the railing from his position on the ground. He could see an outline at the horizon. There were towers. He was soon bombarded with information about the ancient city. Jin was talking a mile an hour again, switching languages and poking them when they didn't pay attention to him. Gaara caught Lim's wink directed at the Kage. The Wanderer gestured up with his finger and then put it against his lips. The Kazekage caught on, and soon the two were climbing further up the mast, just like Sul had done, leaving Shura to listen to the Merchant's history rant.

From here, Gaara could see it better. They were flying swiftly across the sand towards some kind of ruins. He could make out tall towers on top of the sand and one part of a large dome. As they got closer, Gaara noticed more details. The towers were ball shaped on top and decorated with different designs and statues. The ships slowed down and then stopped. A whistle came from the deck, telling them to come down and get ready. Gaara was ready to climb down, when Lim grabbed his hand and pulled him forward abruptly.

For a second they were falling, and Gaara felt a pit of fear in his stomach, but then they landed together on one of the sails, sliding smoothly down. They still picked up quite a bit of speed, so when Lim grabbed some rigging to slow them down, it wasn't too comfortable. Gaara quickly maneuvered the sand around them and they landed safely. Lim was laughing happily, and the Kage found himself wanting to join in, until Chaizen came over and started scolding the tan youth. Later, Gaara found out that Lim had already ripped a few sails perfecting his impromptu slide technique. Chaizen, of course, wasn't happy about the damage to his ship.

The shinobi changed back into their usual attire, packing their backpacks and putting their weapons in their places. Then they helped the Wanderers carry all the boxes and sacks towards the towers. The sun was slowly setting by the time they all arrived to the bottom of the towers. Jin was leading his camels with him. Chaizen stepped forward. He tapped his fingers against the colorful stone. Then he knocked against it lightly and yelled something. Gaara caught Chaizen's own name and title. The warrior then took out a piece of chalk from his pocket and drew a door clumsily on the wall. He pressed his hand against the solid stone and pushed.

A door opened.

**That's all folks! **

**And now I shall give my review replies:**

**anamorales25: Are you not entertained? Mwahahahahhaha!~ I hope to see you again in the reviews, thanks :D**

**The Kazekage of Suna: I hope you stuck with the story, and not only he prequel :P I think that I actually put a lot of detail in my chapters, but I might be wrong. I get worried sometimes that I will bore my readers too much with huge descriptions, but who knows. If you still think that I do lack some details, maybe you could point them out? I'm always looking forward to reasonable critics and I think there is quite a bit of room for improvement in my writing. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Greetings to you all my lovely readers! I encourage you to keep staring at your screen :D**

**I want to apologize to you all, I have been very slow with this chapter, and I am very nervous to hear what you think. It was very tricky writing about the summit :P**

**I will attempt to update weekly from here on, as I don't have as much time as I used to.. :(**

**Anyways, I have noticed some new faces following my story! So a big thank you to Moon's Envoy, YellowMittens, Amandla123 an uzu!**

**As always my review replies are on the bottom, and I am still doing the happy dances and giggling like a maniac whenever I get them :D**

**For this chapter, you have my preferred playlist:**

**Shiva in Exile – Manju**

**Shiva in Exile – Ha'nadi**

**Beats Antique – Egyptic**

**Vanilla Mood – Haku**

**And without any more of my boring talk, I give you Chapter five:**

**In which Gaara gets a challenge…**

_There is one thing I learned about spirits while travelling between worlds. The more human they look, the more dangerous they are. _

_Spirits… They certainly are a mysterious existence. Some say that they are made out of the souls of the dead. Some believe that they come from dreams. Others think that they are brought to life by believing in different legends. No one really knows. Some even believe that they don't exist._

_I call them spirits, like the rest of my people, and I believe in them, because I can see them. _

_Sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad. But mostly they are indifferent. Sometimes they allow you to touch them. And sometimes they can touch you, but you can't touch them. _

The badly drawn door opened into the tower and Kan stiffened. The inside wasn't small, narrow or round like the outside. From the opening in the stone voices, music and yellow light spilled. But what caused Kan's distress was the size. It was a humongous room. Chaizen stepped inside like it was completely normal, his people following him. Lim waved Gaara over, getting a nod from the redhead. However, the Kage didn't move. Kan could notice the tension in their mission leader's posture. He, too, was cautious.

They entered behind Chaizen's clan, but before Jin and his camels. The room silenced suddenly. Kan noticed Toru pushing himself as close to their Kage as possible. Shura on the other hand straightened, making herself look taller and more ominous than she really was. The air around the Kage had changed, the steady leak of chakra had increased a bit, showing that he was on his guard and alert, but his face revealed nothing. Kan noticed that the gourd was missing its' cap.

The War veteran scouted his surroundings quickly, looking for all exits and high ground. The room was made of stone, lighted by torches on the walls. The light was yellow and orange, giving the tan faces and dark eyes that were watching them carefully a more threatening look. Kan noticed that not all Wanderers shared the same features. Some weren't as tan as the desert dwellers they had arrived with. Some had lighter hair, but not as light as Lim and Sul. He surveyed the tables full of food that were pushed against the walls, creating room for pillows, carpets and tiny tables, just like Chaizen had in his huge tent. The people were sitting in circles, looking at them. Kan's ears started buzzing from the dead silence.

He didn't detect any exits except the one they had come through.

They were still moving towards the far end of the room. There wasn't anything big there, just a normal circle of pillows with some people sitting and dining. Then she stood up. Kan felt his breath leave his lungs. This was easily the most beautiful woman he had seen in his entire life. She was tall and thin, but not overly, with paler skin than the rest of the Wanderers. Her hair was long, black and silky looking, in complicated braids attached in different ways in an up do. Various jewels decorated her black locks and jingled as she moved up with impossible grace. Her dress was a pure white, of almost see-through material that flowed around her as she moved. She raised her head, showing an angel's face decorated with oriental make up. There were dots underneath her eyes, signaling her years of study in the Sense. This was the Grand Priestess.

The woman's voice rang out, welcoming Chaizen and his clan in their language. It was like the gentle murmur of the mountain springs as they rushed down to become huge rivers. Her unnaturally pale eyes then turned to the shinobi in the room. She looked over each of them, taking in their posture, appearance and aura. Then she gave them a small smile.

"Welcome to the Summit of the Clans, shinobi and kunoichi." Silence ensued. Kan could practically feel the tension.

"I'm here, too, yer Grace." Jin's small accented voice grabbed everyone's attention. The heavy air slowly dispersed at the kid's rude words. The Grand Priestess laughed. Kan thought he had gone to heaven. This woman was trouble.

"I did not forget you, Jin. Welcome, Devil's Merchant." The child gave her a happy grin. "You will dine with me tonight, there are no enemies when the door is open." There was an air of finality in her statement. She motioned with her hand for one of the boys sitting next to her to take care of Jin's animals.

"We thank you for your hospitality, Grand Priestess." The Kazekage's voice rang through the not so silent room, causing the whispering Wanderers to go quiet once again. The redhead's tone was heavy with power, but still a monotone, betraying nothing.

Chaizen's clan took the sacks and boxes that they had brought with them towards the tables, setting up the food. Gaara gave a nod of permission and Shura, Kan and Toru joined the Wanderers. By now Kan was familiar with the food and could set it in a correct way. He noticed Kara close to him. She looked proud of his skills. Lim, though, was helping Shura and Toru arrange a plate of some kind of lizard with vegetables. The shinobi were obviously lost as to how to set up the dish.

After the work was done, the shinobi and kunoichi rejoined their Kage and walked towards the circle where the Grand Priestess was. The woman had motioned for some more pillows to accommodate the newcomers. They sat down, Gaara first, and then the rest of them. Toru took the Kage's right once again, Shura his left, to be able to translate, and finally, Kan sat next to her. Jin was already next to the Grand Priestess, having a conversation with the beautiful woman in an unknown language.

They dined, without much talking. The Kage was on guard, making his team a bit tense. Shura was eating, but not in the usual quantity. Kan didn't even think about getting recipes. Toru was trembling slightly on the redhead's right, occasionally munching on some meat. The relaxed atmosphere of Chaizen's tribe was gone. The room was filled with sounds. People eating, talking, someone was playing a drum and a voice was singing, but the shinobi felt like they were in a vacuum. The noise was just in the background and they were on high alert.

The Grand Priestess slowly stood up. The room quieted. Every head turned to their leader. The children that were running about sat with their parents. Shura caught Lim's eye and the youth winked at her. The kunoichi felt a bit calmer after that. The voice of the Priestess rang out once again through the room.

"She is addressing the clans, welcoming them to the summit and thanking the Gods for their gifts during these years." The kunoichi translated in a low voice. "She is saying that the leaders will meet tomorrow and discuss clan matters together and that tonight is for celebration. She has officially opened the Celestial Summit now."

The pale eyes of the Priestess turned to Gaara. Shura noted that her eyes were even paler than Chaizen's, which were already unusual. The elder took a moment to look at the Kage. She gave him a small smile then, even though his face stayed impassive.

"We should move to a more private location, shinobi." She finally spoke. "Then we may discuss the matters at hand."

After Gaara gave her a nod she stood up, a couple of boys and girls rising with her. They were dressed differently, the Kage noted. The Priestess led them away from the pillows and food and towards the back of the room. Jin gave them a small wave, unaffected by the tension, and continued stuffing his face. The Priestess moved one of the drapes that hung on the far wall, revealing a spiral staircase. She climbed it gracefully, the shinobi following her. The boys and girls that had risen with her went last, closing the cloth after them.

"The boys and the girls with the Grand Priestess are children from the clans who have the Sense." Shura discreetly leaned towards the Kage and explained. "They come to the current Priestess and are trained in the art of Door Opening. I am not very familiar with their religious rites, but I know that they study history, writing, dance, art and rituals while they are trainees. Their education can last from a year to their whole life and they gain permission to put a red dot for each year. Those are mostly drawn underneath their eyes."

The Kage nodded to the kunoichi softly, thanking her for the information. Soon they entered a circular stone room, lit by pale blue light. There wasn't much in it. A couple of pillows, a small table in the middle and some vines with flowers growing from the walls. The beautiful woman took a seat, motioning for all of them to join her. One of the strangely dressed boys set up and put a pipe on the small table. After their peace was shown, the woman spoke again.

"It is unusual for shinobi to come to our summit." She regarded the redhead with unreadable eyes. "What is your purpose here?"

"It has come to my attention that there have been several misunderstandings between your people and mine." Gaara began. "I came here with the intention to deal with any future problems." One of the boys from the circle laughed without humor. The Kage counted four red dots on his face.

"And why didn't you send your leader? Instead you shinobi send us an arrogant boy, an old man, a gluttonous woman and a coward? I call that rude!"

"It seems you need some more training Komachi." One of the girls in the room interrupted. She had three dots on her cheek. "This is their leader." Silence took the room.

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara, Suna's Kazekage. These are my associates Kan Shinya, Shura Takeuchi and Toru Minami."

The Grand Priestess was smiling softly at the redhead as he spoke. Kan couldn't tell what she was thinking but she seemed amused. Maybe it was the fact that the inexperienced girl embarrassed a senior trainee? Maybe it was because the Priestess could read minds? What if she could read minds? Then she probably knew about Kan looking for exits! Maybe she had gotten them to this private room to 'deal' with them. These boys and girls may be assassins. Child assassins weren't too uncommon these days. Shinobi were assassins, too. He wouldn't let this happen to their Kage. Kan would act first if something suspicious happened.

"I am Chun'yan, the Grand Priestess. These are my trainees Komachi, Eileen, Ari and Zed."

There was a moment of utter silence. Gaara and the Priestess were having a stare down. Shura fidgeted on her pillow. She was worried. Until now, she was almost certain that their Kage didn't mean ill towards the Wanderers. However, after the reception they got from the clans, she wasn't sure. Chaizen's wasn't the only clan in the desert, and she couldn't vouch for all of them. Maybe Gaara was going to unleash the Biju and destroy the threat? All Shura could sense from him now was a steady leak of chakra. He was ready to attack at any moment.

"I understand your reasons for coming here, Kazekage. However, I do not believe it is in your power to act in any way against us." The Priestess spoke in a low voice. "We are, after all, residents of the Wind Country and have bowed down to the Wind Daimyo."

"Sunagakure is one of the damaged parties in this little misunderstanding. As I am its' leader it is in my power to take action to prevent further accidents." The redhead's face betrayed nothing as he spoke. "I think that we are all residents of the same Nation and should be able to make a deal as two independent parties."

The Priestess now smirked and then laughed out loud. Toru was attempting to speak but no words came out of his flapping mouth. Shura smiled to herself, glad that Gaara's intentions weren't murderous. Kan released his kunai. The trainees across them had similar reactions of shock and bewilderment. The leader of the shinobi village, one of the five great Kages had just come to them, by sandboat no less, and asked them to make a deal with him as a free city?

"I never expected the shinobi to have someone like you, Sabaku no Gaara." The Priestess managed to get out through her laughter. She looked at him in the eyes then, calming her giggles. "I am interested in hearing what you had in mind. What would be the conditions of this deal that we would hypothetically make?"

Gaara's aura shifted, the steady chakra leak lessening. "It would cover the issue of provisions in the dry season and the storm season and of course anything else needed would be discussed, rather than making more misunderstandings, like we had up until now."

Gaara was well taught in politics. He had addressed all the necessary issues. The lack of provisions that the Wanderers received because of their nomad ways. The thefts that were bothering the cities in the desert. The further cooperation of Wanderers and Sunagakure. He was good.

"I see our situation with the Daimyo isn't a secret." The Grand Priestess sighed. "It's troublesome and difficult, but we do manage somehow." She smiled deviously then. "And what would the Wanderer tribes bring to the deal?"

"That is negotiable. Mostly what they want to trade, including items that residents of Sunagakure can't obtain or valuable information." The Kazekage explained. There was silence in the room. The trainees exchanged glances. The Priestess looked deep in thought. Then she once again locked gazes with the Kage and gave him a mysterious smile.

"You know that the Grand Priestess or Priest is chosen by their level of skill in the Sense, yes?" She didn't wait for a reply and continued. "Any laws that I may pass have to be approved by the majority of the clan leaders. Therefore, I am willing to make a suggestion about this deal to the clans at the Summit tomorrow on one condition." She gave the Kage yet another smile. He nodded to her, urging her to go on.

"You must pass my test."

The boy sitting next to her jumped up suddenly, his face twisted in rage. All the trainees looked quite distraught by this suggestion, but he, Komachi, looked murderous. The kid glared at all the shinobi in the room, as if trying to make them drop dead with the intensity of his stare. The girl that had corrected him earlier, Eileen, attempted to pull him back down onto the pillow, but he tore his hand from hers. Angry words spilled from his mouth in the Wanderer language. The small girl, Ari, put her hands on her ears and closed her eyes in fear. Kan, Shura and Toru grabbed their weapon of choice. Neither Gaara nor Chun'yan reacted to the disturbance. The tall lad, Zed, stood up then and grabbed Komachi's arm. He murmured something in the Wanderer language to the enraged boy.

"What will this test include?" Gaara ignored the commotion in the room.

"Nothing difficult I assure you." The Grand Priestess spoke calmly. "It will not be unlike your shinobi missions. I want you to bring me the Spirit Water." Shura gasped. Gaara looked at the kunoichi from the corner of his eye. She looked surprised and a tad amazed. He nodded to her, signaling that they would talk later.

"May I take my team along with me?" The Kazekage didn't want to leave his comrades in the care of Wanderers. Until the deal was sealed, he wanted them close, where he could make sure that they all came out of this little expedition alive. The Grand Priestess looked to each member of the Kage's team.

"You may bring them, if they wish to follow you." She smiled then. "I will even give you a willing guide through the door. One of my trainees should be able to spare some time and guide you through." The woman gracefully stood.

"Now, why don't we all go back to the festivities? This is, after all, a once in five years summit." She extended her hand to the small girl, Ari, who was still sitting. The little thing accepted and followed the beautiful woman back down the spiral staircase.

"When you get tired, just ask one of us to lead you to your quarters, they are ready for you." The other girl, Eileen, said to them before leaving the room with the other trainees. Kan remembered asking himself how they knew that the shinobi were coming and to prepare rooms for them, before entering the loud room full of people and food again.

~~~~~~~Page break~~~~~~

Eileen stumbled through the corridors towards her room. She was exhausted to say the least. The summit opening celebrations were slowly dying down and she had completed her duty, finally, by leading the shinobi group to their rooms.

They were staying at the circular room with smaller rooms connected to it that had been dug out that day by Eileen and her friends. To say that the space was transformed by some kind of magic would be more accurate than saying those kids worked themselves to the bone to make it beautiful.

All the rubble was gone, except the occasional stone that acted as a nightstand. The rooms were washed and dusted and then set. In the bigger, circular space was a table surrounded by a dozen comfortable, colorful pillows. There were also small plants near the walls that glowed in a pale blue light during the night.

In each of the rooms there was a bed, made from soft furs and handcrafted rugs and then set with silk-like materials as bedding, and a small nightstand. On those there was a glowing plant and a bowl of clear water, along with a towel.

Eileen was proud of their work. The rooms looked like they had been regularly used and not dug out that morning. The shinobi were surprised at the level of their hospitality, she could tell. The short haired woman had thanked her in the language of Wanderers and had asked her a few questions, such as about the breakfast, bathing and such. Their leader had been quiet through the whole walk to the rooms and the conversation between her and the woman. He had been watching them like a hawk. Eileen could still feel his eyes on her. She was glad that they weren't enemies. Of the other two men, the trainee preferred the older one. He had smiled at her and generally didn't creep her out like the other one. The smaller, trembling and terrified looking male in the group just had a bad vibe somehow. Well, all in all, Eileen found that she didn't mind the shinobi as much as she thought she would. She kept reminding herself that they were killers and not good people.

Eileen had talked to her clan that night. She saw her aunt and uncle and their children. The eldest sister was getting married soon. They had asked her when she was going to be done with her training for a priestess. She didn't have the heart to tell them that she had a black void inside of her that her living with the clan could never fill. When she was wandering with them, she felt like an outcast. True, all of them had a part to play in their caravan, but hers was minor. Anyone could clean and do laundry. And not everyone could cross between worlds. There, amongst warriors, she felt like an outsider and here, with the other trainees, she was important. She was on the inside. She was irreplaceable. So she told her family what she always did, that she would be back soon.

Eileen opened the door to her room and walked to the bed. Not even bothering to get undressed she plopped down onto the mattress.

"Hi." Came a voice somewhere above her head. She tilted it up, only to see Kisara's grinning face.

"Hello to you too." Eileen grumbled moodily. The younger girl sitting on the bed began to untangle decorations from the tired trainee's hair. She worked in silence, waiting for her friend to relax and be in a better mood. When she was finished, they both crawled further onto the mattress, lying side by side on the furs.

"Are you going to tell me?" Kisa's face was like a child's when seeing a present. The younger girl took her friend's hand and intertwined their fingers. Eileen smiled to herself softly.

"There are four of them. The-"

"I saw that! Tell me the interesting bits! C'mon!" Kisa's head rose from the mattress to look at her friend's face.

"Will you be quiet so I can talk or not?" The talkative girl plopped back down onto the bed. Silence. "Alright then. There are four of them. Their leader is the youngest one. He is the definition of mysterious. But I do like him." Kisa's face twisted in a thinking expression. "He is honorable and just and above all cares for his people. I can admire that, even in a shinobi."

"That's the redhead, with the weird thing on his back, right?"

"Yes." Eileen gave her friend a small glare. Kisa laughed nervously and went quiet yet again. "The woman seems rather nice. She is well mannered and speaks our language quite well. She also knows a bit about our traditions." Eileen gave a short dramatic pause and then continued.

"The other two men, the older one I quite like, while the younger one gives me the creeps. I don't think he likes the Wanderers very much." Kisa waited patiently this time, but Eileen didn't continue.

"That's it?"

"The two men didn't speak much."

"No, I mean what happened at the private meeting? What did they want?" The dark haired girl rose from her position and sat cross-legged, watching her tired friend carefully. Eileen had a tendency to get very annoyed when sleepy, but, Kisara was too excited to care at this point.

"Their leader suggested some kind of a deal. Cooperation he says." Eileen snorted. "They got cleaned out by one of the clans on the way to the summit." Kisara laughed.

"I bet they weren't too happy about that."

"Not at all." There was a moment of silence. Kisara was waiting for Eileen to tell her more, and the older girl was hoping that her friend would leave and let her sleep. She was exhausted. "The Priestess said she was going to test him." The young trainee finally caved.

"By the Spirits!" Kisara jumped off the bed excited. "This is the first time in centuries that an outsider will take the test!" Eileen sighed.

"I know. Don't cuss. And get out. I need rest." The trainee snapped at the dark haired girl. The excited youth stopped pacing and gave her friend a big grin. She then threw herself back on the bed and kissed the other girl's cheek. Eileen's eyes shot open just in time to see Kisara exiting her room.

"They are killers, Kisa, remember that." Eileen whispered, but the black haired girl caught it.

"I know, Eilee." Kisara said, her cheek on the door. Her eyes were sad somehow. She was a bit lost and didn't know what to think. These people didn't seem too bad to her. Kisara flashed a smile at her tired friend.

"Thanks for the info!" The troublemaker yelled while running down the hall.

Kisara practically flew down the stairs, high on adrenaline. Those were the people! She wanted to talk to those people. The shinobi probably had stories that she couldn't even imagine. They had been out of the desert. They had missions that took them all over the world. Travelling with the nomads only took you so far, and Kisa had never left the desert in her life. She was ready for an adventure of her own. Unfortunately, she was stuck with the Priestess until she could control her Sense properly. And that wasn't coming along according to plan.

The dark haired girl opened her door and shed the outer layer of her trainee garb. She slowly started untangling flowers and gems from her hair. Her hair was dark, almost pitch black. She wanted a lighter shade, like Eileen. Eileen was beautiful. Her fellow trainee was fairer then most of them. She had unusually blondish hair and a paler complexion then most of them, but not as much as the Priestess. That woman looked ethereal. Eileen however, came close to their leader's beauty and Kisara was envious of that. Eileen even had blue eyes, while Kisa had plain dark ones. She was a Wanderer of her clan through and through.

She sometimes wondered why she didn't have white hair like some of her clan members. Her brother had the pale locks, but that gene had skipped her. Needless to say, it was very unusual for a child to be either short or pale among the Wanderers. Those who were, they were either Spirit touched or outcasts. She was glad that her brother was considered Spirit touched and had shown that talent in his life already.

Kisara removed her make-up next, erasing the two dots beneath her left eye gently. She had seen her family at the banquet. Her brother had grown. He was taller than her and he carried a sword now. He had told her all about the shinobi that they had brought and how great all of them were. At first, Kisa thought that someone was bewitching her little sibling, but then she thought differently. No one in her clan seemed to mind the strangers. They even said that all of them helped during the journey. Kisara was a bit doubtful, they all looked like pretty and high class people who didn't get off their behind to actually do something. Besides, Eileen said that they were all killers. If they had their trade, why would they need to know everyday chores? Kisara was confused by the subject of shinobi. She was cautious of them, yes, but she didn't harbor the hatred that some of the clans did. She wanted to judge them on her own, without prejudice.

The young girl threw all of her clothes off and plopped onto her comfortable bed. She would see tomorrow what the shinobi are made of. If they were going to take the test, like Eileen said, much more than their capabilities as warriors would be tested. She wanted them to succeed, for the sake of her brother, of course. He had told her that he was friends with the strangers. She would wish them well, because her brother's friends weren't her enemies.

With those thoughts Kisa let her mind slowly slip into the world of dreams.

**Ladies and gentlemen, that's all from me! **

**Now there are a whole bunch of OCs, and there are only a couple more major ones coming, but don't worry, I will make them as weird as possible, and you will be able to tell them apart! At least I will try… Hehehehe~**

**Onto the reviews!**

**The Kazekage of Suna: I see.. I will go over it and see what I can maybe edit, but I'm not sure I will. I tried to make it as short as possible, since it's just a prologue xD But I do love the input! Critics make me all tingly with happiness! **

**Thank you for your compliments. I will do my best to improve further :D Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**

** uzu: I am so curious as to how you chose your username.. It's awesome! Wait, back on track me. Thank you very much for the review, I hope you like the rest of the story! **

**Yep, Kan is a right crazy veteran with his ideas, I can't help it, I love him.**

**Thank you for your compliments! I am aware that fanficion is a site open to all ages, and my story is rated T (at the moment) so I do try to use a more casual way of writing, easy to follow for both people whose first language is English and the ones whose it isn't. I am not a native speaker myself, and I get very confused with how to write something at times. Thank you for the tip about mistakes, must've missed some, I still haven't managed to tie down a beta to my computer :( **

**I am so glad I am getting more input on my version of Gaara! He is… damn. I love him, but Gods, I have no idea what he would do at times hahahaha I will continue to struggle, and hopefully I will win!**

**This is an extra long chapter here, but I have no idea how long the next one will be xD I have sooooo much to put in there… I thought I was going to be done with the summit by chapter five but noooo brain went into overdrive and got all of these ideas out there… I mean Zed, Ari and Komachi were definitely NOT in my plan, but they kind of popped out… And they became so cute and useable… I had to keep them! **

**Ok I'm done now, for real. Your review made me soooo happy! I look forward to hearing from you more :D**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello my dear friends! I practically feel like I know you all by now :D**

**I have seen someone already familiar in my reviews alerts, like The Kazekage Of Suna, and also, welcome shika93 and my dear guest, SabakuNoFangirl, thanks you guys :) **

**Thank you for the new follows also! Don't be shy, come talk to me in the reviews, I don't bite. Heheheee~ I give my thanks to Torat123, Vendetta M and shika93!**

**This chapter was a very amusing one to write, as I finally introduce my main OC to our lovely Gaara. I hope it doesn't get too confusing, it will all click in the end, I promise. **

**Do you guys want me to keep posting these songs? Or am I boring you all, who are in fact reading this, which is rare, with my choice of music? **

**My playlist for this chapter is:**

**Theodor Bastard – Anubis**

**Aimo - Yoko Kanno (Also called Haha to Ko Ranka no Aimo)**

**Beats Antique – Tabla Toy**

**Theodor Bastard - Takaya Mija**

**Madder Sky - Kotaro Nakagawa & Hitomi Kuroishi & Mikiya Katakura **

**And here comes Chapter six:**

**In which Gaara goes on an adventure… **

After the trainee, Eileen, had left their rooms the shinobi group slowly settled in. Toru claimed one of the half open spaces where a bed was and inspected his bowl of water for poisons. Deeming it safe, he washed his hands and face, finally feeling a bit better. The boat ride had taken a lot out of him and his stomach was still quite upset. He could see the main room through the thin sheet of white fabric. The light material looked ethereal in the blue light of the underground plants. He sat on his bed, after checking for hidden traps and shed his backpack and some of his weapons. He needed rest if they were going to do that test tomorrow. He had no idea what Kazekage-sama was doing trying to make a deal with these people. The Elders were going to skin him alive.

Shura chose her own secluded corner and decided to check on her wound. She dropped her stuff on the mattress. When she unwrapped the wound the skin was sore and inflamed, but the cut was healing. She still had some medicine from both Suna and the Wanderers. She carefully washed her hands, then her wound and applied the salve before wrapping it into clean bandages. Healing slowly or not, she wasn't fit for fighting now. She didn't know all the details about the test and she couldn't risk being unable to defend or attack if necessary.

Kan put his backpack onto one of the beds. After washing his hands and face quickly, he slicked back his bangs and walked into the big room. He joined their Kage on the circle of pillows and took out his weapons to clean them. Their leader was sitting completely still, and Kan would've thought the youth asleep unless he knew better. Gaara opened his eyes and stared at the small table in concentration. He looked miles away.

"If I may be bold, Kazekage-sama, what's on your mind?" The older shinobi asked quietly. He received a long stare.

"The test that the Priestess is asking you to do, it is a great honor, Gaara-san." Shura sat down by Kan. She grabbed one of his kunai and started cleaning it with precision while talking.

"The leaders of the clans are selected by vote of popularity. However, they all must pass a test before becoming official leaders. That test is what the Grand Priestess is offering you to complete. It is a test of body, mind and soul and if it is completed no Wanderer will challenge your intentions. They will consider you an ally."

"Do you know anything about the test? Besides what the woman told us?" Gaara inquired, but Shura shook her head.

"I will, however, follow you willingly, Gaara-san." She smiled at him, passing Kan the clean kunai to store. He gave her another piece to clean.

"I suppose I'll come along, too." The War veteran declared, staring at his kunai collection. He wanted this whole thing to be over and done with. He wanted to go back to Suna, to his peaceful vegetable garden and try out one of Kara's spices with his own food. Then again, if he did leave the team here, in favor of his cooking, they would get themselves buried underneath the city. These old ruins were very unstable. He had to be ready to act at any moment to prevent death by ravine.

"Kazekage-sama." A pitchy voice came from behind the redhead. Then, Toru entered his field of vision slowly. The shinobi was dressed for bed already, and he looked worse for wear. The trip by boat really did a number on him. "I will come along, too, if you'd let me." Gaara gave the trembling noble a nod. The team sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound was the rhythmic cleaning of kunai.

There was a light tapping sound in the corridor outside their room. Like bare feet on the cold stone. Shura stopped cleaning the kunai and gripped it in her hand, ready to attack. Gaara formed a couple of seals, creating his third eye outside of their rooms. He couldn't see anything, so he undid the jutsu and nodded to his subordinates. Shura went back to cleaning her kunai in silence.

.Tap. Went the sound again. Kan and the Kazekage exchanged glances. Gaara should've been able to see whatever that thing approaching their rooms was.

.Tap. The mysterious sound was getting closer and closer. Then it stopped. Silence ensued. Kan was still looking at their Kage carefully. They shared a nod of understanding and then moved soundlessly. The War veteran headed towards the arch that represented the doorway and flattened himself against the wall, kunai in hand. The Kage stood, arms crossed, sand slowly leaking from his gourd and onto the floor. Shura moved so she was in front of Toru, shielding the cowardly shinobi with her body. They could hear only crickets in the background. Then a soft murmur reached their ears. It was in a language none of them understood. Barely a whisper. The soft feminine voice kept repeating some kind of phrases quickly.

.Tap. Three more steps, slower than the ones earlier sounded and much closer to the doorway. A figure emerged from the dark. Everything happened so fast. Kan had a kunai at the young girl's throat while the Kage's sand was around her body, ready to squeeze the life out of her form if necessary. The Wanderer girl didn't even flinch. She looked calmly in front of her, eyes blank and kept muttering in the unknown language. They all stood still for one more second before Toru grabbed one of the kunai Shura was cleaning and threw it at the intruder.

The weapon sailed through the air, stopping centimeters from the girls face. The Kage's sand held it firmly, not letting it harm the now silent girl. Everything was still for a moment. Then the girl's head slouched forward in the cocoon of sand, her body going limp. Kan moved his kunai at the last second, leaving the Wanderer unharmed. The War veteran and the Kage exchanged glances, then Gaara slowly let his sand slip back into his gourd. If this was an assassination attempt he had seen better. This slip of a girl, with no weapon on her, even announced her presence quite loudly. Maybe it wasn't an assassination?

With the sand gone, the girl fell onto the floor, lying there without movement. Gaara moved closer and noted that she was breathing. The Wanderer was asleep with no care in the world. Kan crouched next to their unexpected guest and moved some hair from her face. He didn't recognize the girl.

"I don't think she's hostile." The War veteran muttered to the Kage. "Even while approaching us, she had no killing intent. She had a steady aura. No chakra leak either." The Kage nodded to him, signaling that he, too, had noticed it. Shura walked over to them, interested. Toru was still in his spot. He looked shaken and seemed to be feeling guilty. The kunoichi examined the Wanderer on the floor.

"I saw this girl at the welcoming ceremony. She is one of the trainees." Shura looked to Gaara then. "She was sitting with Chaizen later. I remember her because she was with them. She must be a clan member who has the Sense." The Kazekage nodded.

"It's late. Go to bed." He told his subordinates softly but firmly.

"What about her, Kazekage-sama?" Kan asked, still crouched next to the sleeping girl.

"It's not a problem." The Kage bent down, picking up the Wanderer. "I will stand guard, if she wakes, i will find out her reason for coming here."

This answer seemed to satisfy Shura and Kan. The War veteran offered one of the spare blankets to the Kage and soon the sleeping Wanderer was comfortably settled into one of the least secluded rooms. Shura packed all the kunai into Kan's backpack. She was used to him being obsessive over his weapons. He gratefully accepted the bag and they each headed to their beds, saying goodnight to their comrades.

Toru spent a few moment cautiously watching the sleeping Wanderer. The Priestess was a witch. Teaching these girls and boys their pagan and make-believe rituals. They probably sacrificed people. Who knew why she came here? They might be next on her list of people to enchant and use for rituals? He was wary of the girl. Then again, she was just a child. Besides, with the Kazekage-sama here, she couldn't do anything. The Jinchuriki would destroy her before she could even think of harming Toru. With that thought, the young shinobi headed to bed.

Gaara sat on the comfortable pillows in the bigger room. From his position he could clearly see the young Wanderer. She was just a girl, he assured himself. She meant no harm. She came to them while sleepwalking probably. He didn't want to believe that the Wanderers would do anything to jeopardize their current status with the shinobi. The cooperation would be beneficial to both parties, maybe even more to the Wanderers. Besides, if the trainee was from Chaizen's tribe, like Shura thought, he especially didn't want to harm her.

Movement from the girl's room caught the Kage's attention. She had moved to her side, kicking off her covers. He noticed, then, something crawling on the floor. It was a tiny spider, making its' way from the girl's side into the bigger room. The redhead followed the spider's movements. He didn't know this species, and he didn't want to risk getting anyone poisoned, unless necessary. The small creature crawled towards him, then across the pillows and out into the hallway. It seemed in a hurry. After a while, the insect left the Kage's mind, more pressing matters entering it. In the nighttime, unbothered, he could think about the things he needed to get done back in Suna. He imagined the doom called paperwork waiting for him. He hoped that Temari was home and helping Kankuro.

Dawn came quickly for Gaara. He had tossed a few ideas on Suna improvement in his head and ended up getting caught up in those thoughts. The Konoha shinobi training system always seemed appealing to him. He wondered if the Council would be able to swallow his next big idea: implementing the new shinobi training system. He was probably already nominated for the most annoying Kazekage by the Council. Gaara smirked at the thought. He didn't want any child to experience what he did. He wanted to change Suna for the better. Most of the ideas that he had told the Council by now, were thought insane and almost impossible, but they had worked just fine. Suna was regaining its' former power and had potential to grow even further.

The cooperation with Konoha had been a delicate subject for many years. After Gaara became a Kage, however, he used their allied village as much as possible. Maybe it made him feel close to Naruto, cooperating with the Leaf shinobi. Maybe he just preferred their rather naive way of thinking. He wasn't too sure. Gaara was proud of his work, though. He had encouraged exchanges in the medicine field the most. The Councils, both in Suna and Konoha were against revealing war secrets and jutsus to the allied villages, so he had to make due. Working with the Hokage, Tsunade, they made an exchange in medical plants and even some poisons. Some of Suna's med-nin went to Konoha to learn from either Sakura or Ino, the pupils of Tsunade herself. Needless to say, when he had first presented this idea to the Council their faces were priceless. In the end he had succeeded. Next on his list was improving the combat abilities of his comrades through the new training system.

A ray of light appeared in the room, surprising Gaara. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a couple of holes in the ceiling near the walls. The sun rays came from those, hitting the walls in a certain angle so that they reflected and shined all across the room. He was impressed by the underground fortress. They really had thought of everything when building it, these Wanderers. He wondered if Suna could use some of these construction ways to improve.

There was movement from the Wanderer girl's room again. She rose in her bed, threw her covers off and headed into the big room. When she saw the stoic Kage she froze. For a moment they locked gazes. Surprised and curious eyes met the powerful, indifferent stare. The girl broke their connection, taking in her surroundings quickly. She then gave Gaara a smile and stepped forward only to fall flat on her face.

Gaara's non-existent eyebrows rose. He certainly wasn't expecting this. The Wanderer seemed sheepish as she picked herself up with as much grace as possible after the incident. She gave Gaara another smile and put her hands in a mudra-like position, similar to Namaste, formally greeting him.

"Why did you come here last night?" The Kage didn't beat around the bush. The girl seemed a tad confused, still standing at a certain distance from the seated shinobi.

"You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?" Gaara murmured into his chin, his experience with the extent of Lim's conversational skills popping into his head. He motioned with his hand towards the circle of pillows and the Wanderer girl sat down happily. She kept looking at him in a way he wasn't used to. She looked at him with complete wonder and curiosity. Then she gave him one more surprise, she spoke in his language.

"I understands. You talks too fast." Her grammar was bad and her accent was heavy, the words barely understandable, but Gaara caught them fine.

"Why did you come here last night?" He repeated, this time slower.

"I sleeps. I no comes. I sleeps." She seemed confused by his words. He figured his initial thought of her sleepwalking was correct.

"You are in Chaizen's clan?" He asked next. The dark, curious eyes never left his person. She was making him a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't used to someone looking at him like that, without even a bit of fear.

"Yes." She answered. "You is shinobi?" The girl fired back her own question.

"Yes. I am Sabaku no Gaara." The Kage said, as if that explained everything.

"My name is Kisara. I am very pleased to meet you." The sentence seemed automatic and well practiced. She must've repeated it a dozen times. The girl's eyes finally left him. She stared into her lap shyly for a second. It seemed uncharacteristic for someone who stared openly at him for the last fifteen minutes to suddenly act proper and timid.

"Gaara has adventures?" He barely caught the words, she spoke quietly. She was asking him about his adventures? What adventures? Gaara's brain froze for a second. He didn't have adventures. Naruto had adventures. Not Gaara. Gaara had a village to take care of. He had shinobi to take care of. He didn't even go on missions anymore. Even those never were adventures for him.

"No tell me adventures?" Kisara was looking at him again. She seemed ready to cry. She had mistaken his silence for rejection.

"I don't know about adventures." Gaara decided that was the best answer at this time. The girl now looked between confused and a bit mad. What was good was that she didn't loom sad anymore. Kankuro had warned him about crying girls. It always ended badly.

"How? Why?" The Wanderer began. "You has adventures! Out of desert, different countries, many adventures? No?" She tilted her head a bit, her hands moving unconsciously as she talked. "In shinobi village, too, many adventures!" Kisara nodded her head and then smiled at him expectantly.

"I don't know." The baffled Kage repeated, not sure how to deal with this enthusiastic Wanderer girl. He didn't hate her cheery and slightly hyperactive persona, but he wasn't sure that he would be able to handle her being near him for the rest of the morning.

"Then," The girl spoke again, this time looking at him with determination in her eyes. She leaned forward on her hands, face getting closer to the shinobi. "You takes test. Spirit Water test. That be adventure. Then you knows adventure what is. Then you tells me shinobi adventure." She smiled at him and then suddenly sat back and extended her hand to him. "Deals?"

"Deal." The Kage decided to humor the Wanderer, slightly intrigued by her personality. It would be beneficial to have more allies in the Wanderers anyways. A smaller and more delicate hand grabbed his in a surprisingly strong grip and shook it enthusiastically.

"Good morning, shinobi. The Gran Priestess sent-" a voice came from the arch. Eileen stood there, staring at the shinobi and her friend shaking hands. "Kisara!" She scolded after she got over her shock. Gaara couldn't follow the rest, because it was a fast exchange in the Wanderer language between the two girls. Their host from last night, Eileen, seemed mad because Kisara was here. Their conversation stopped then, leaving Eileen fuming and Kisara guiltily pouting. The older girl recovered, putting on a fake smile.

"Excuse me." She said to the Kage." The Grand Priestess has made a motion for the cooperation of the shinobi of Sunagakure and the Wanderers. It has been voted in by the majority, on the condition you pass the test." The trainee briefly looked to Gaara's still asleep subordinates. "You may join us in the Hall when you're ready to commence your test. The sooner the better."

"Hall is where food yesterday be." Kisara explained to the Kage. He wouldn't admit it, but he was glad that she had. Eileen then marched over to the other girl and pulled her to her feet.

"Excuse us." She said flatly to the shinobi and dragged her friend out of the room, without waiting for a response. Kisara waved with a smile at Gaara while leaving. The young Kazekage was left in the stone room, sitting alone on the circle of comfortable pillows, and for a moment he felt a small loss with the strange girl's cheery presence gone. He brushed the feeling aside and stood to wake his comrades.

~~~~Page Break~~~~

When the shinobi team entered the Hall, the Wanderers were already there, starting on their breakfast. This time, instead of sitting with the Grand Priestess, Gaara chose to sit with Chaizen and his clan. The redhead ended up between Kan and Lim, which in his opinion was much better than the tension-filled main circle of pillows. The Wanderer youth was, as usual, attempting to get his shinobi friend to try weird food, just to see the funny reactions. Gaara had evaded all of the attacks with surprising skills. Kan, on the other hand, wasn't that lucky. The War veteran had showed a lot of endurance, even Lim seemed surprised.

Shura had gone to another clan, also of desert dwellers. Gaara knew from her file that she had been injured in the desert once and then taken care of by a Wanderer clan. He figured she had found them and wanted to greet her old friends. He caught sight of her getting hugged by an elderly woman and then sitting down next to the old lady. Then, the Kage was once again distracted by Lim's morning shenanigans.

Toru ended up near Chaizen, finding the Wanderer leader familiar and less intimidating than the other clan members. The warrior kept piling up Toru's plate and refilling his goblet of Fruit Water. Needless to say, the young noble soon forgot all about danger and fear, and he relaxed under the mysterious drink's influence.

The meal took longer than Gaara expected. They kept waiting for the still asleep members to join them, then to eat. Someone had started playing music, various kinds of drums and flutes, and then the dancing began. In the end, the sun was high in the skies when the Grand Priestess finally stood, quieting the room. She said something in the Wanderer language, mentioning the shinobi. Gaara supposed that she had told them about him accepting the test and taking his comrades with him on the trip. She then turned to the redhead and gave him a small smile and a nod. He stood, Kan and Toru rising with him. Shura soon joined them.

The Wanderers sitting in the middle of the wide room suddenly sprang into action. The space where they were eating was cleared of all pillows and tables, the Wanderers finding seats in the crowd. A couple of trainees approached, drawing a complicated design on the floor with chalk. Then they all joined hands and stood in a circle around the art.

The Priestess walked towards the formation in the middle, motioning for the Kage to join her. The shinobi walked towards the group, feeling all the eyes on them in the dead silence. Gaara saw Eileen and Kisara holding hands in the circle, the latter looked at him, but her face didn't betray anything. Eileen, on the other hand, looked a tad mad. He also recognized the tiny girl, Ari, and the two boys, Zed and Komachi, from the first meeting. The circle of trainees split letting the shinobi group get into the middle, then they joined hands once again.

"The time has come." The voice of the Priestess was calming and gentle. She walked around the group placing and lighting candles gracefully. "This circle will send you to the other side. You may have one of them guide you to the doorway, however from there on, you are on your own." She smiled slightly at the shinobi leader. "I will await your return. You must complete your task before sundown."

The circle of nine apprentices then started chanting in the Wanderer language. It was a song of sorts, but Shura couldn't catch the words. They were probably from the archaic, less-known, version of the language. The room was slowly filled by other sounds, too. The kunoichi was glad that the Wanderers were talking again. She didn't like the dull buzzing in her ears that came with the silence. The soft, soothing sound of a stream calmed her very much, her previous nervousness fading. An unfamiliar bird call sounded somewhere to her left.

Shura froze, suddenly back on full alert. She opened her eyes, not knowing when exactly she had closed them. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the brightness, and then all of her breath left her lungs. The scenery was nearly indescribable. All the colors around her were heightened somehow, like she was in some sort of a dream or poisoned by a mysterious toxin that only affected her sight. She took a deep breath, calming herself down, forcing her irregular heartbeat back to normal. She could feel the adrenaline fading, allowing her to inspect her surroundings more objectively. They were still breathtaking.

Shura was standing on a patch of grass, which looked impossibly clean and fresh. All around the group were trees and flowers and birds of all colors. The forest, in which clearing they stood, was magical. The trees were connected through a series of randomly growing vines with white flowers. The grass was peppered with red, blue and violet blossoms, their scent soothing in the air. When she looked up, she couldn't see the skies. There were just trees all around them. She wondered where all the light was coming from, but the thought left her mind soon. The wind blew softly, the calming effect immediate. There was a sound of the stream Shura had heard earlier, it must've been nearby. There were many bird calls all around the group. Shura wanted to close her eyes and stay here forever.

The kunoichi, however, realized that their hosts had stopped singing. She looked around the circle, only to see them with their eyes closed in deep meditation. She looked to her comrades and met Gaara's stare. He nodded to her, indicating that he had been aware before her. Kan and Toru looked out of it, their eyes closed and bodies completely still. They didn't even seem to be breathing. Suddenly, panic overtook Shura. She rushed to Kan, inspecting him for any kind of injuries.

"You were like that, too." Gaara's monotone calmed her nerves a bit. She looked to the stoic Kage. He was watching the forest carefully. "Leave them be. We will wait."

Shura trusted her leader, but she stayed near the still bodies of her fellow shinobi. Minutes passed, and the woman was getting antsy. She was worried about Kan. She had to admit, she had grown fond of Toru, too, even if he was an obnoxious noble most of the time. She didn't want to lose either of them. Then the War veteran took a big gulp of air and his eyes shot open. The shinobi didn't have much control over his oxygen deprived body and swayed. Shura swiftly caught him and carefully supported his weight. Kan was looking around in wonder, but with suspicion. The man was always searching for a threat. There was another gasp, and Gaara caught Toru before the shinobi fell to his knees. It took a moment for the group to adjust and collect themselves.

"This isn't the desert?" Toru pointed out.

"I believe that we are in the Spirit World." Shura clarified. "Physically, we should still be in the desert, but our spirits have separated from our bodies, allowing us to cross."

"We need a guide to the door." Kan said. Gaara looked at the circle of trainees. Shura nodded.

"I can't be of much help here. I've never visited the other side before."

The redhead didn't show any signs of hearing Shura's words. He walked to the trainees instead, looking at Kisara and Eileen. Those two he knew the best. He supposed he could trust one of them to guide him to this door the Priestess spoke of. He lightly tapped Kisara's shoulder, and the girl opened her eyes. She gave him a tiny smile and untangled herself from the circle.

"I takes you door?" She asked and the Kage nodded. The Wanderer motioned for the shinobi to follow and lead them straight into the forest. She didn't seem to be following a path or a compass, she just walked and took seemingly random turns. Gaara thought he noticed one of the trees move, but he brushed it off as his imagination. It didnt take long for them to reach some kind of an arch made from branches. If Kisara hadn't pointed it out, the shinobi wouldve walked right by it. It looked like a normal part of the trees and vines in the forest.

"You goes there, I waits here." Their guide told them. "Spirit Water in Blue Cave. Very near. You finds easy." Gaara gave the girl a thankful nod, leading his group towards the arch.

"Gaara no trust anything Spirit World!" Kisara yelled after them as they crossed the border.

Gaara felt a lurch in his stomach and then he, very ungracefully, flew forward. The shinobi managed to catch himself before falling flat on his face, unlike the kunoichi and the young noble beside him. Kan managed to stop his fall, too, and he helped Shura and Toru up. Gaara shielded his eyes from the wind that was suddenly blowing faster and stronger. They weren't in the calm forest anymore for sure.

The group was standing on some kind of a grassy patch of a cliff, the tree arch unnaturally lonely behind them, no sign of the magical forest. The wind was colder and salty, blowing from the sea. Gaara looked forward, only to see a giant landscape. Suddenly he felt tiny compared to the size of this other world. He could see well from their position. The mountains, the sea and rivers and the wide grassy plains and the forests. Gaara could pinpoint a pale, tall mountain in the background with stormy clouds circling it. Now he understood Chaizen's clan's name.

He looked up, only to see an ocean. He could see all the way into the deep. Shura shrieked beside him as a humongous whale passed above them, blowing air and water onto the earth. Gaara collected himself, squashing his surprise and curiosity, also some fear, even though he would never admit it, and looked for the Blue Cave that Kisara had talked about. He spotted some kind of an entrance near the bottom of the rocky hill that they were standing on. Soft blue light shined through the gap in the stones. Looking down, the Kage chose their best route and motioned for his subordinates to follow him towards the left. They needed to go down the hillside and into a small canyon, and from there on they would follow a river to their destination. It seemed easy enough in the Kage's mind.

"Gaara-san." Shura appeared on the redhead's right. "That girl that lead us here, she is the one from last night?" The kunoichi left the sentence hanging.

"Yes." Gaara could see Toru and Kan paying attention to the conversation, too. They found a small path, obviously not used very often, down the rocky side of the hill.

"Wouldn't it have been better to ask Eileen-san to guide us? She is our official guide here, no?" Shura pressed for details, finding it suspicious that the Kage would ask the strange Wanderer girl to guide them. She had been gone from their rooms by the time the kunoichi was up, and she didn't know anything about the trainee. Maybe the Kazekage trusted her because she was from Chaizen's tribe? She wasn't too sure. The wind was much stronger on the side of the hill. Shura tied her hair back and gripped her backpack.

The Kage looked back to the kunoichi and gave her a tiny smile that stopped her in her tracks. Her leader suddenly looked so much younger, much more boyish. "Adventure." He told her and continued walking. Kan and Toru caught up to her, bickering about something between themselves and asked her why she had stopped.

Shura didn't understand what the young Kage's words meant for a long time, but she did find out in the end. The shinobi that was in front of her that day had wanted to experience the rush a true adventure gave someone. He wanted to be able to tell someone his tale one day and be proud of it. He wanted to use the support and the push Naruto had given him to make his own path and be his own person. Not defined by what he was, but by who he is. That's what having an adventure meant for him.

**And this is it for today from me!**

**And onto the reviews!**

**The Kazekage of Suna: Thank you very much! I love reviews, and I try to encourage everyone who writes back to me with a line or two to review again. I understand not having time and all that, during exams and lectures at college I have no time whatsoever, but I warn before going MIA most of the time. I look forward to hearing from you :D**

**shika93: Thank you for the encouragement and compliments! I hope that you are enjoying the story :D**

**SabakuNoFangirl: Hello there, I have no idea how the guest reviews work, I can see it on my e-mail, but it doesn't appear on fanfiction. Oh well, I shall answer anyways! And hopefully your wonderful input shall appear! **

**Thank you very much for the compliments, and the input! I adore Kan's paranoia, too, soon we shall see some more of his ideas on how to save the day. We have a tiny one in this chapter :D **

**I already have most of the next chapter written, hopefully I will check it and go over it soon, and update by the end of the week. **


	8. Chapter 7

**Welcome, my dear friends!**

**I would like to thank some new followers! and bishojosenshi, welcome! **

**Also, I have some new story favs! Ooooh I'm so happy! So thank you , KT-Desu, 8, bishojosenshi and lady kae :D You guys made my day~ **

**And I was very surprised by an author alert and fav from bishojosenshi, thank you very much!**

**I have done some drawings of my OCs, just sketches and stuff, I'm working on getting them on deviant soon, hopefully they will be on my profile before the next chapter is up :D **

**And here is my preferred music for this chapter:**

**Beats Antique – Crush**

**Oshima Hiroyuki - Accelerated World**

**Grimes – Genesis**

**Beats Antique – Revival**

**Beats Antique – Dragon's Eye**

**And this is Chapter seven:**

**In which Gaara discovers about Toru…**

_I am not sure what to say about the shinobi. I am not sure I understand them. How can one not know about adventures? _

_Then again, I read and listen and question much more than any of my peers. I like to hear about heroes and damsels in distress and the battlefield. I like to hear about different places, about the unknown and its magic. I like to hear about different lives and different people. I like to hear about things that I am not familiar with. _

_I wonder If I will ever have an adventure of my own?_

At some point, Gaara realized that their trip down the hill was taking far too long. No matter how much they went down the narrow, unused path, the distance between them and the bottom was the same. Almost like a genjutsu. The Kage had dismissed that idea earlier. He would've been able to identify the threat earlier, if there were any.

Gaara stopped and looked around once more. The group behind him halted, Shura giving Kan a questioning glance. The War veteran shrugged, trusting their Kage on this one. Toru had pushed himself in the middle, between Gaara and Kan, feeling the safest there.

"There's something wrong." The redhead said unexpectedly. Shura looked at him in worry.

"What do you mean, Gaara-san?"

"We are walking, but not getting any closer." The Kage seemed annoyed with the situation, rather than worried.

"Maybe we should choose a different route?" The War veteran asked.

"And maybe we should let Kazekage-sama decide." Toru snapped over his shoulder at the older shinobi. Kan frowned, but didn't retaliate.

"Don't trust what you see, was it?" Gaara asked no one in particular and then did something very unexpected. He jumped straight into the canyon and vanished into thin air. Kan, Shura and Toru exchanged looks, from shock, worry to complete terror. The more experienced shinobi grabbed the young noble and jumped straight down after their leader, the trapped man screaming his lungs out on the way down. They landed onto some kinds of vines that snapped under their weight and then their feet were once again safely on solid ground. After inspecting their surroundings, they realized that they were at the bottom of the canyon. It looked much different than expected.

The rocks were pale, but had a variety of minerals in them, making them different colors. The river was somehow giving off a glow. The droplets looking like tiny stars jumping around. They weren't falling down under gravity, but shooting off ways down the river, leaving small silver trails after them. They couldn't see where the river began, but it seemed to flow from the tall mountain behind them, which seemed to touch the sky with its top.

Gaara was waiting for them, inspecting the water on his own. The river wasn't too wide, but it was quite fast in this region. There was some space around the rushing water where they could walk along the bank all the way to the valley. The Kage motioned for them to follow him again and started walking at a fast pace. He didn't want to waste his time because of the deadline, and if there were more tricks like these, he needed those minutes. Hurrying up to match the Kage's pace, Shura felt her side sting in protest. The jump down the cliff didn't agree with the still healing cut.

The group soon left the rocky canyon behind them and continued following the river. Gaara looked around. They needed to cross the water to get to the cave. Here no physical laws applied. The river went up and down hills, flowing normally. It created a medium sized basin where the entrance to the cave was, making it difficult for them to get across and into the opening. Gaara didn't want to risk entering the water. Who knows what kinds of secrets it held?

"Should we try walking across, Kazekage-sama?" Kan realized the same things as Gaara, there was no bridge. The Kage frowned, but decided to risk it.

"I will go." He was aware of Toru protesting in the background and Shura looking at him worriedly, but the Kage still stepped forward with determination. Instead of staying on top of the water, with all the chakra pushed to his feet, Gaara fell into the river with a big splash and a very surprised face. He was vaguely aware of Kan pulling him out as he spluttered and spit most of the, surprisingly tasty, water out of his lungs and mouth. The first rational thought that made its way into his brain was that he needed to dry his sand. His armor was useless now.

"Kazekage-sama!" Suddenly Toru was next to him fretting. The worried voice faded out and all Gaara could hear was the pleasant song of the birds from the magical forest before, then some kind of chanting and then he tasted his favorite foods and he was suddenly back in his office, with Naruto sitting opposite of him.

"Hey Gaara." The blonde said, grinning at the shocked Kage.

~~~~~PB~~~~~

Toru ended up, surprised, but in his rooms back home. He looked around for a second, the Kazekage and the War veteran were gone. The young shinobi left his quarters and entered the silent hall of their noble estate. The family that he was from was one of the wealthiest families in Suna. They owned many buildings, including the main hospital and the library, and their estate was huge. The buildings were, however, mostly empty, as not many members were left, and even the still alive ones weren't at home often. Toru grew up without friends, alone in these huge halls, scared of his own shadow.

The shinobi walked down the corridor, ignoring the shifting shadows and the crackling of the sand against the windows outside. He headed to the main room, looking for people. Anyone would do now. He needed to know what was going on.

The young shinobi entered the main room and froze. There was blood everywhere. The metallic scent was sickening. There were body parts all over the walls. His eyes swept the room looking for survivors, but he only saw more mutilated bodies. The clan elders were sitting in their high thrones at the end of the room, their guts spilled in front of their feet and their eyes gauged out. On further inspection, the shinobi saw their mouths were sown shut, too. They wouldn't be turning a blind eye, spilling lies or betraying anyone anymore. He couldn't help but feel a slight happiness arise inside of him. Those elders wouldn't harm him anymore. He was free.

A soft gurgling sound came from Toru's left. He turned, seeing blood sprout from a torn up body. He walked carefully, slipping on the red liquid on the floor, and crouched next to the barely alive person. They were missing a leg, and their arms looked badly broken. The face was beaten beyond recognition. Familiar blue eyes stared up at him.

"Toru..." The person rasped. "Why?" Toru looked down at his caretaker in horror. Had he done this? Maybe the mission with the Kazekage was just an illusion? Maybe he had finally snapped and lost his mind. Toru focused chakra in his hands, pressing them to his friend's bleeding leg. He wouldn't let this man die.

~~~~~~PB~~~~~~

Shura watched as her comrades fell to the ground. She was beside them in a flash, checking their breathing and heartbeat. They all seemed asleep. She figured that the water had something to do with this. The first one to fall was Gaara, and he was also the first to touch the substance. Kan and Toru, who touched him, also fell. She needed to find a way to snap them out of it, without touching the thing herself. Then she felt something behind her. The kunoichi whirled around and her eyes met with huge bug-like ones.

A fly was staring at her. The problem was, the fly was ten times bigger than her. She stared in horror as it buzzed its' wings and headed for her knocked out comrades. Shura focused her chakra in her hands, using one of her basic jutsus, throwing series of chakra infused air balls at the insect with high speed. The problem was, the balls, which were supposed to be the size of a basketball and fast, were as big as marbles and travelled at a snail's pace.

The kunoichi watched as the defective jutsu hit the giant insect, making it switch targets and focus on her. She figured that the Spirit World was interfering with her chakra usage. She had felt it before, too, but she had thought that the amount of energy in the air wouldn't affect hers. She was wrong. The insect hit her with its head while she was distracted, sending the kunoichi flying back.

The young woman scrambled to her feet, evading the next few charges with success. She took out a couple of kunai, throwing them at the giant wings. If she could hit the membrane, she could make the creature immobile. That would give her the advantage. Even without her jutsus she still had a chance. Shura inspected her pouch with explosives while evading the fly's clumsy attacks. She felt four explosive tags. She could guess that she probably had three more kunai and some shuriken. She could do this. The kunoichi smirked, ignoring the pain in her side. Time to lay her trap.

~~~~PB~~~~

Kan blinked once, twice. He had no idea what was going on. One minute he was pulling the soaked Kage out of the starry river, and the next he was back home, in Suna. He was sitting at the kitchen table, alone. There was clanking in the kitchen. Upon further inspection, he saw her standing there, cooking with a wide smile. Kan knew that this was impossible. He knew that she was gone. He would never be able to experience something like this again. But her smile, the scent of her food and the soft humming did him in. He could leave it to his fellow shinobi this time. He wanted to live in this illusion for a moment longer. Kan took a spare spatula and tried the heavenly food that the woman was cooking, getting a familiar slap on the wrist. He smiled at her lovingly, his gut twisting and throat clenching. How he missed this.

~~~~PB~~~~~

"Uzumaki Naruto." The redheaded Kage greeted his friend slowly. He didn't like this one bit. There was something wrong. He had been doing something. Something important. Why was Naruto here?

"That's my name." The blonde was lounging comfortably in the guest chair in front of Gaara's stone desk. He looked up at the young Kage, his wide grin ever present. "You better remember the name of the future Hokage."

It was strange, seeing his Konoha friend again. Naruto was the same as Gaara remembered, even though the redhead himself had aged. He even had those same orange clothes that he loved. But, he didn't seem as immature as Gaara remembered. Wait. How did the blonde get here? He isn't supposed to be in Suna. He is supposed to be with that Jiraiya person, training. Training with a Sannin would do him some good.

"You are here?" Gaara's tone was questioning, alert, but betraying nothing. Naruto waved his hand in dismissal.

"You worry too much, Gaara." The future Hokage jumped up from his chair. "Let's go get some ramen! There is ramen in Suna, right?" Naruto headed for the door, arms locking behind his head in a relaxed manner as he walked. Gaara stood, following his friend. He nodded, but then answered as Naruto couldn't see him.

"Yes. There is a stand that I know of." The blonde moved to the side, allowing the Kage to exit first. Gaara put his hand on the knob and turned it. A tanned, strong hand suddenly gripped his, making the door close once again.

"Naruto?" Gaara looked to his friend with surprise. But Naruto wasn't looking back. There was something wrong. The blonde's features were twisted in pain, like his hand was being forced. Gaara then noticed small golden trails around them. They were floating and whipping around, making Naruto's hand move. Gaara felt a searing pain come from the doorknob and let it go with a gasp. His whole arm was burning in pain, and not the flesh wound kind. He felt like someone had taken his bones and twisted them inside, without anything happening on the outside.

Naruto, too, looked in pain, as he stumbled back, the golden dust trails pushing him away from Gaara. Their eyes met. Gaara looked surprised and Naruto looked enraged.

"Gaara! Why?!" The blonde yelled, startling his friend a bit. But Gaara wouldn't be tricked anymore. This Naruto was an illusion. All of this was an illusion. He pulled his sleeve back to find the source of the pain in his arm. What he saw surprised him.

The tattoo Lim had drawn on his arm was slowly, painfully, peeling off and attacking the Naruto illusion. The rest of the thing came off and hurled itself onto the door, making it completely invisible. The golden paint was protecting Gaara, Lim's new friend. The Kage felt his alertness and the twisting in his gut, like before a battle, fade slightly. He felt much calmer.

Looking up, he saw the Naruto illusion gone. The golden dust was still swishing around, covering the door and inspecting the office for other threats. Obviously the door wasn't the way out of this illusion. Well, only one more thing to try, Gaara figured.

"How do I get out of here?" He felt ridiculous, asking golden dust for a way out. Then the paint reacted to his voice, coming closer to him, and swaying away gently. Now he truly felt ridiculous. He had asked paint for a way out. How the mighty had fallen. Gaara sighed, hand going to rub his temple, an action he had gained as a habit in recent months.

There was a sound to his left, and the redhead turned, on alert. The golden dust was moving a small bookshelf. Gaara went there, pushing the wood out of the way. Now there was an empty wall in front of him. He stared at it, expecting something magical, but nothing happened. The wall kept being a wall. The gold dust gathered then and formed a door frame. Some more of it became a painted picture of a doorknob. Then everything in the room settled.

Gaara was all alone in his office. The dust like golden paint had returned to being just paint. The Kage inspected the drawn door and then remembered the way Chaizen had entered the underground city. Gaara placed his hand on the drawing, and hoping that it would work, he pushed forward.

~~~~~PB~~~~~

Shura panted, running away from the fly once again. The insect wasn't too smart. It attacked her relentlessly, but without any strategy. Shura figured that it fed on all things that fell victim to the starry river. She needed to keep her sleeping comrades safe. By any means necessary.

The kunoichi jumped towards the fly suddenly, using her momentum to land on its back. Once there the slammed an explosive tag on the creatures back, praying that it would stick and jumped off the mutated fly. The force of the explosion sent Shura flying, and disoriented, she failed to land on her feet, rough rocks scraping her hands and knees. The woman got up quickly, ignoring the protest of her body, and stood protectively in front of her subordinates. The insect headed towards her again, only angered further by the kunoichi's attacks.

Then, Shura felt something warm and sticky all over her. She realized that she had blinked. The kunoichi was covered in some kind of blue substance. She searched for the fly, thinking this was an attack of some sort. All she saw were insect parts lying in front of her. The creature had been ripped apart by something. Maybe an explosion from her tag? But she didn't hear one? Then she saw it.

A humanoid creature was walking calmly towards the starry river. It was distinctly male, dressed in vibrant colored loose pants. It had a mane and a tail of a lion, but pale wings of a bat on its back. It ignored her as it passed. Its face was almost white, with two large, round eyes and seemingly no mouth. Shura saw two ears rising from the thing's head. What surprised her the most, and terrified her, was the skull-like mask that decorated the side of the creature's head. This was a humanoid spirit, she figured.

The thing had a presence Shura couldn't describe. It was like being deep underwater, head pounding and heart pumping in fear of death. Death was a natural occurrence here. Eat or be eaten. Power is everything. The spirit bent and then flapped its wings, crossing the river easily. Its presence lessened when it entered the blue cave. It wasn't there for more than a minute, and then it came out and headed East, away from the group. They weren't interesting to the powerful creature.

When it left, Shura felt herself sliding to the floor. Her legs had turned to jelly, and she could feel her heart skipping irregularly. She had thought that she was ready to die. She had thought that she wasn't afraid of death, like all shinobi. But in the end, she was terrified. She was terrified of death in this world. Death on the battlefield or during a mission was an honor, but this, being dead only in spirit, was horrible. The thought of leaving behind only her body in a vegetable state quickly rooted itself as one of her worst fears and she felt like she was going to puke.

The kunoichi sat on the ground of the Spirit World, thanking whoever was listening for her luck and life. She didn't know when her body started trembling. That spirit, it had saved her just because it wanted to pass there. Shura was a bug that it didn't even notice. She didn't know how long she just sat there.

~~~~~PB~~~~~

He needed to get back to the reality. Toru wasn't a good shinobi, nor a very good person, but there were two things he was good at and one of them was illusions. He was well aware that this wasn't the real world, no matter how similar it was.

Toru snapped out of his illusion by force. He knew that it was just an illusion. He knew that it was fake. So he did the only logical thing. He stabbed his friend as hard as he could, killing the source of the illusion. Like he thought, the images of bloody body parts in the familiar room faded, along with his caretaker's corpse. The man stood, clearly shaken. He checked the Kazekage and Kan. They both seemed to be doing alright, even under the charm of the water. The young shinobi looked around, not seeing the kunoichi.

He jumped up to his feet, and began his search. He saw all the weapons and signs of battle. He saw Shura's blood. Panic gripped him, twisting his gut. In the beginning of their mission he hadn't been too fond of the woman. During their impromptu trip, he had found himself relaxing around her, and feeling comfortable with her.

She acted motherly towards him, even shielding him when he was in danger, something that he wasn't used to. His clan took pride in their political power, or death in battle. Toru failed at both. But this group, even the Kage, they didn't seem to care about that. They made Toru doubt the principles on which he had been brought up on. The young shinobi had realized that being a noble didn't make you any different than a normal shinobi. Even the Kazekage had been in regular troops before getting his honorable position. He had, by now, separated two people, the Kazekage, as a figure, from Gaara, the shinobi. The Kazekage was a serious leader, who wasn't afraid to protect his people even at the cost of his own life. He made deals and decisions, he was stoic and frightening, but kind to his people. Gaara on the other hand, he was still a teenager. He was kind and caring, he was emotional, even if he didn't show it much and he had a very mischievous side, that not many got to see.

The young shinobi heard mumbling and crying. He soon spotted their fellow kunoichi sitting on the ground, covered in some kind of blue slime, shaking and crying. Toru slowly came closer to her, inspecting the woman for wounds without startling or touching her. She was clearly in shock.

"Shura?" He called out to the woman, his voice low and gentle. She whirled around, eyes wide and frightened. She didn't seem to even recognize him for a moment, but then, she launched herself on him. The only thing he could hear was her repeating his name. He carefully hugged the woman back, watching out for some of the injuries he had seen earlier. She didn't seem in a lucid state, and Toru didn't want to be away from the group for too long, so he compromised. Making up his mind, cursing himself in his head, the noble picked up the kunoichi gently and carried her back to their comrades.

~~~~~PB~~~~~

Jin sat comfortably on one of the heavenly pillows. He was drinking Fruit Water and smoking one of the water pipes with Sweet Grass in it, enjoying life. The Grand Priestess had invited him here, into her private quarters. The woman in question was still absent however, so he was free to enjoy himself.

The room was as he remembered from his last visit, high above the ground, but still it wasn't hot from the desert sun. Jin was sure that the room was in between worlds, like the majority of the City. It was a round space, on top of a tower, with tall, gothic styled windows, the only way in a spiral ladder. The room was decorated with various pictures on the walls, books all over the place, and soft white silks, creating a serene tent. There was a desk and a bed on one end, and some pillows and a low coffee table in the middle of the room. It wasn't too personal, or too full, but it was just like Chun'yan. She even had wild vines coming in through her windows, blooming flowers making the room smell magically.

The floor door opened, the Grand Priestess entering. She climbed up with her usual grace, the long dress not hindering her movements. She walked over to Jin and sat opposite of the child. The woman placed some of the goods she had brought onto the table, revealing a teapot and some treats in the bundle of cloth. Jin laughed at her inventive way of smuggling from the kitchens and waited for her to pour their tea.

"Jin, my dear friend," The woman began, her tone was sad somehow. "What news from the West?" She asked, finally looking at the strange child.

"Meeeh, nothin' much, Chun'yan." The child took a cookie from the bundle on the table and settled back into the pillow. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were cold and calculating. "I sold some of 'em fabrics ya' gave me last time. An' i almost got eaten by 'em cannibals at that tribe down South. Ya' know those troublesom' peeps down 'ere."

"Again?" The Priestess asked through giggles. Jin was famous for his trade. He went everywhere, which meant he even went to the shady parts of the land.

"Ye'." He confirmed, his mouth full because of the cookies. Jin gulped down some tea, admiring the quality. "But Chun'yan, I heard some rumors." The child leant forward, lowering his voice slightly. "They say that Jegan is finally making his move. Even Tamask is with him."

The Priestess sighed. She lowered her cup onto the table, rubbing her temple. Jegan was beginning to worry her. The man had broken one of their laws, and then, in his banishment, he had started preaching his own religion. He based it on the same as she did, but he spun the story his way, making the Priestess an imposter, a liar and a nemesis. In the eyes of his believers, she was the evil who didn't allow them their free will and religion. She was the one enslaving their people. She was the evil who kept the worlds apart and needed to be destroyed.

At first, Jegan wasn't a big threat. He had a few loyal people, who listened to his preaching. But now, he was recruiting as many as possible. Jegan had been a great Priest, he had potential to succeed Chun'yan's mother, but he had gotten exiled before that. Chun'yan couldn't hold a candle to him. He was a true genius when it came to doors, circles and politics. But in the end, he didn't get the position, not only because of his exile, but because of his temperament.

Jegan had always been an angry man. He was angry at everything. Chun'yan could remember him almost breaking her arm, because she had taken his pencil once. He was always yelling, hating and disagreeing. And that is why he had never been stable enough to let a spirit cross into the Material World. All of his spirits had been either only partially here, or out of control rampaging.

And Tamask. Someone like him joining Jegan. Chun'yan had never expected that. Tamask had been a leader of a clan. A mighty warrior. He was believed to be KIA for years. But, when discovered alive, courtesy of Jin, Chun'yan had gone to see the man, asked him to come back, live and heal with them. But what she found wasn't her old friend, it was a shell of that man. It was a broken glass figurine, barely holding itself together. For Tamask to join Jegan's believers, something had broken him completely.

"It doesn't matter. Tamask is free to do as he wishes." The Priestess said sadly. "He is no longer a member of my tribes."

"Chun'yan." Jin moved closer to the woman across from him. He placed a comforting hand on hers. "He was your friend. It's alright to be sad." The child looked so much older then, his unusual accent gone, emotion thick in his tone.

"He was, Jin. He was." At that moment she looked so old. Too old for the ethereal being she was every day. She looked so small and broken and vulnerable. Not at all the perfect Grand Priestess she was moments ago. She looked so human, reminding Jin that she actually was, in fact, human. He gave her a smile and squeezed her hand.

"Now, ya' wanna hear what 'em peeps from Water Country asked me ta' deliver this time?" The child smiled and leaned back again. The Priestess looked up, giving him a small thankful smile.

"It wasn't a fish aquarium this time?" She asked, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"Na', their spoiled brat found 'imself somethin' even more ridiculous to send 'is girlfriend!" Jin started rambling again, making the woman across from him forget about the storm that was brewing. She needed to forget about it, just for a moment.

~~~~~PB~~~~~

Gaara found himself in some sort of limbo. Everything was so bright, yellow, all around him. The golden dust door had taken him somewhere. He had no idea where, but it was better than the illusion about his friend. The first thing he did was pull up his sleeve, searching for Lim's tattoo. He felt a pit of loss and sadness in his stomach when he didn't find the complicated, beautiful design in its place. The golden paint had saved him, but it was gone. He wondered what Lim was going to say.

Gaara felt something crawling up his leg. He looked down, only to spot a small spider. It was innocently hurrying up his body. He briefly considered crushing it with his sand, but the idea was dismissed soon. The little thing was harmless, probably as lost as he was. On further inspection, Gaara realized that the spider was familiar to him. It was that same spider from the night he had met Kisara. He had brought it with him to the Spirit World by accident. He had thought that the little thing had left the rooms, apparently it had attached itself to him at some point.

The Kage sighed and intercepted the wandering creature before it got into his clothing, and took it in his hand. The arachnoid thing stopped still, terrified, focusing its many eyes on the redhead. Gaara stared back, nothing else to do here anyway. The scenery around the spider slowly changed, the yellow, bright light fading. Gaara was back where he started, beside the starry river. The spider from his hand was gone.

Looking around him, Gaara saw Kan on the ground, out cold. He was breathing. Then, the redhead saw something that definitely wasn't there before he fell into the illusion. There was a spider, two times bigger that Gaara himself, staring at the Kage with its many eyes. The redhead focused chakra into his sand, ready to defend, but the creature didn't have any hostile air around it. It was just watching him with curiosity.

"Kazekage-sama! Look out!" Came Toru's voice somewhere behind the redhead. He turned to see the noble carrying Shura on wobbly legs. He was looking wide eyed at the giant spider.

"It is fine, Toru." The Kage calmed him. "This one means no harm."

The shinobi seemed to settle down, but still looked at the creature warily. He placed the terrified kunoichi down, slowly untangling her arms from around him. The Kage was beside them in a heartbeat, inspecting his comrade.

"What happened?" Gaara's tone was stern and demanding.

"She was like this when I found her, Kazekage-sama." The young shinobi clarified. "I will heal her external injuries, but I'm afraid that she will have to overcome the mental trauma on her own."

"I wasn't aware that you were a medic." The Kage was confused by the lack of information in Toru's file. Suna was in great need of medics, having one more meant saving more lives, healing more wounds and making more teams with a medic in them. It also allowed the redhead to make the medic teach his skill while not on missions. Medics were a rare treasure in Suna.

"Forgive me, Kazekage-sama." Toru started working on Shura's injuries, his hands shaking as the adrenaline wore off. "It is not honorable in my clan to practice this skill. I tend to keep my knowledge to myself." He locked eyes with his leader then, unusual determination in them surprising Gaara. "I hope that you will too, Gaara-sama."

"I understand." The Kage left his side, going to try to wake up Kan. The sun was already low in the horizon. "We will discuss this further upon our return to Suna." Toru nodded, focusing on the slime covered woman in front of him.

Gaara inspected Kan, deciding to leave the topic of Toru being a medic for later. The War veteran was breathing shallowly, but breathing. The redhead gathered his chakra, and attempted to dispel the illusion like a genjutsu. Nothing happened. Molding chakra felt like moving humongous rocks. He felt exhausted just by one small seal. What surprised him, was that there wasn't a tug from inside, that he was well used to suppressing by now. Shukaku was unusually silent.

"Kazekage-sama." Toru caught his attention. "We should get going, the sun is low." The cowardly noble continued to surprise Gaara. Indeed the sun was almost all the way down, the beautiful, dangerous Spirit World basking in red and orange hues.

"Stay here. Guard them." The Kazekage gave his orders, and Toru almost shivered. This was a direct order from his leader. He felt panic creep up in the back of his mind. He was no fighter. He couldn't save his own life when attacked, much less his comrades' lives. But the redhead didn't wait for a response, nor did he expect one, he was already walking towards the river, determination evident on his face.

Toru realized that his hands were trembling while healing the kunoichi. He stopped the steady flow of chakra. He had done the best he could at this time. Her recent wounds were almost completely gone, the only one left was the wound in her side. The gash was deep, probably open before departing for the mission. Toru thought that this woman must be insane to accept another trip in this condition. The wound was inflamed and probably infected. It showed signs of treatment, but it wasn't professional. It was just a patch-job. He would have to consult with a healer, if the Wanderers had any. He needed more supplies to fix this.

In the meantime, Gaara had gotten to the water. He stared at the tiny shooting stars in distaste. He quickly abandoned the idea of walking on the surface, the last attempt was a complete failure, and he didn't fancy another dip in an illusion. There was also an option of a sand platform or bridge, but considering the amount of energy in the air, he doubted that he would be able to summon enough chakra without it being cancelled out by the Strange World.

Gaara saw, out of the corner of his eye, the giant spider moving. He had been wary of the creature, alert, even though it seemed to wish them no harm. The long legs of the spirit spread across the river, and it stood still there, almost like a bridge. Gaara tossed a wary look at Toru, but the youth looked about ready to die from terror at the mere sight of the spider, so the redhead dismissed any kind of support from the noble quickly. The young shinobi had reversed back to his cowardly ways in seconds, making the Kage wonder where that confident medic from before had vanished off to.

Since the giant creature didn't show any signs of moving, Gaara cautiously stepped forward. He pushed as much chakra as he could into his feet, ready to jump from the spider at the smallest threat. He stepped onto the hairy leg and walked upwards, on high alert. The creature stayed still, waiting. Gaara deemed it safe, but paid attention to the flow of the spirit's aura. At the slightest killing intent, he would destroy the threat.

The Kage was soon across the river. Tossing one more glace back at his team, which hadn't moved, he headed uphill towards the easily visible Blue Cave. Glancing once more at the sun, the Kage sped up and entering the Cave in a flash.

As soon as he stepped through the entrance, Gaara found himself in a different dimension once again. It was a room of stone, water walling from the ceiling everywhere, never touching the people who had just entered. It was much bigger than it looked like from the outside. There were pools collecting the sparkling streams of water, sending them into the earth bellow. In the center there was a circular basin full of clear, almost white water. It seemed to sparkle. On further inspection, Gaara saw tiny specks of something silver, like the stars in the river from before, in the water. The water from the spring seemed to be alive, as if singing with an unheard voice. The Kage felt at peace next to it. This was the Spirit Water, he simply knew it.

There were brown skins and ceramic bowls at the foot of the circular basin. Gaara carefully scooped water into a couple of skins, not letting the water touch him. He didn't have time for another illusion. When he extended his arm, his sleeve rode up. The redhead felt a wave of loss, not finding the golden design on his hand. He had hoped that it had vanished only in the illusion. Banishing those thoughts, Gaara gathered the full skins and hurried back to his team.

The spider was standing still, just like the Kage left him. And his team was in the same position as he left them, Toru looking ecstatic when the redhead stepped down and onto the ground from the creature's body. To say that Gaara was surprised at the flurry of movement behind him was an understatement. The spider, which he had deemed partially safe by this moment, moved much faster than the Kage expected it to. Two long, hairy legs grabbed a water skin from the startled redhead and ripped it open. The strange Spirit Water sprayed everywhere, the grass, the shinobi, the rocks, the spider. The giant creature dipped its head, ignoring the two shinobi ready to attack it, and drank from one of the newly formed puddles.

What happened next was one of the most amazing things that both Gaara and Toru had ever seen. The huge spider, mighty and ugly, slowly transformed. The gangly legs retreated into its body, the hair from it vanishing. The dark, frightening colors and designs fading from it, soft blue and white swirls taking their place. Its head had changed its shape, too, multiple eyes vanishing, only two taking their place. In a few moments, in front of the in awe shinobi, was a gentle fish, still humongous, but less threatening than the spider.

The energy in the air had shifted with the creature's transformation. Gaara felt calm and power fill him, like having his chakra replenished with natural rest. Shura's trembles died down completely, leaving her staring into space, but much more calm-looking. Toru sat on the ground beside his comrades, gaping at the sight in wonder. Kan remained in his fantasy, but even in his sleep, he seemed peaceful. Another powerful discharge hit the two aware shinobi head on and the beautiful creature in front of them fell upwards. Gaara raised his head, following the trail of the sparkling body. It flew into the ocean above their heads with a splash and swam away happily into the dark depths. Dark depths? Gaara looked to the horizon, seeing the dying, bleeding sun. They had only minutes to return to the Priestess. The Kage still had a few more skins, their prize was with them.

"Toru!" There was urgency in the redhead's voice as he bent down, grabbing Kan's still body. The addressed shinobi followed through, picking up Shura, who was looking much better. She seemed to be taking in her surroundings, but still hadn't spoken. The walk upstream was more of a run, the Kazekage set his pace mercilessly, making Toru wonder about their leader's physical strength. Gaara never seemed to do any work, except with his sand. The young noble had thought their Kage to be more dependent on his element, but the shinobi seemed fine. The redhead was carrying the taller and more muscular Kan with unexpected ease.

In a few moments rocks started blocking their way more. Then they came at a dead end. A rock solid dead end. And the wide river? It was appearing out of the ground, almost as if from nowhere. Gaara frowned. They needed to get up to the top of the hill, and then back to that forest where Kisara was. They needed to go up, to the place where they had jumped from, and Gaara had no idea how. And their time was running out.

He didn't know how he made the decision, but he did. He was very conflicted about it, even after the moment had passed. He had promised not to rely on Shukaku, but only on himself. He had promised to be strong on his own. He had promised himself. And yet there he was, thinking about breaking down that solid wall and tugging on the huge amount of chakra that his Biju held. As brief as the thought was, it made him feel disgusted with himself. He had almost given in to the temptation of power. He felt like the Spirit World was calling out to him, struggling to pull him into the eternal game of power. A few years back, and Gaara would've let go and freely rampaged in the unknown. But now, he was no beast. He was no monster. He was Gaara. He was the Fifth Kazekage.

Toru was surprised when their leader stopped and evened out his breathing. The Kazekage seemed to calm down drastically. Toru, too, felt reassured with the redhead's inner peace returning. Sand shot out of the gourd, surprising the young noble and then they were flying on a solid platform. They went up swiftly. Toru felt like his head broke through the water surface at one point, and that's when the scenery around them changed. They were back at the tree made doorway, safely on top of the hill. The Kage didn't let his sand drop, but used it to speed their exit from the dangerous dimension. The shinobi group crossed the border into the forest, Kisara's wide eyes waiting for them, excited.

**And this is all folks! A really long chapter (almost 7k), as I have no idea when the next one is coming :( **

**I have been watching One Piece recently… But I swear that I am not giving up on this :D**

**All the best to all of you! I would love to hear what you think, as always, come visit me in the review section :D **


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